A god in the Makings
by Spawn of the Core
Summary: When Ichigo's hollow attempts to take over, something odd happens. While Ichigo is fighting off his inner demon, they both stab each other in the chest and their souls truly merge. What will happen when Ichigo realizes that he has gained all the power of his hollow, and retained and enhanced all his soul reaper powers? What will happen when Soul Society finds out?
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first story, so** _ **constructive**_ **criticism would be appreciated, but please don't excessively bash.**

 **SUMMARY:** When Ichigo's hollow attempts to take over, something odd happens. While Ichigo is fighting off his inner demon, they both stab each other in the chest and their souls truly merge. What will happen when Ichigo realizes that he has gained all the power of his hollow, and retained and enhanced all of his soul reaper powers? What will happen when Soul Society finds out?

Chapter one: The beginnings of a god.

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

"AAAAAHH SHIT!" Ichigo nearly fell out of his seat as his combat pass went off around his neck.

"Is something wrong mister Kurosaki?" Miss Ochi asked, a tick mark forming at her temple, "Or are you interrupting my class for no good reason?"

"Sorry Miss Ochi, I just really need to go to the bathroom." His teacher watched in bewilderment as he sprinted out of the room.

"Delinquent," she muttered as the door slammed behind him. "Anyway! Can anyone tell me..."

Ichigo heard his teacher's voice fading as he ran. He quickly yanked his combat pass off his neck and shoved it through his chest. After propping his body up against the wall in the bathroom, he dashed off towards the park that he felt an alarming amount of reishi radiating from.

"Oh... shit," He heard a garganta close as the last of a group of about a dozen hollows entered the world of the living. This group was headed by none other than the arrogant and ever annoying Grimmjow. Behind him were 3 adjuchas and 8 menos.

 **Hey Kingy, look who it is! The guy that almost killed you cause you were being a prissy!**

 _I know who it is you prick! I'm not blind and I think I'm going to remember that damned blue haired arrancar that HURT ORIHIME!_

 **Whoa, whoa, whoa Kingy, calm down. You know the angrier you are the easier me to control you.** He laughed a long laugh.

 _Damn hollow. I wish he would just buzz off._

 **But I'm never going away~.** He said in a singsong voice. Then it turned darker. **Though I'd be overjoyed to never see you again.**

Ignoring his hollow, Ichigo quickly took out the menos with a single, but long, flash step, using a similar technique to what Byakuya used when coming to retrieve Rukia. He then fired off three getsuga tensho's to erase the adjuchas from existence, and finally was left staring at Grimmjow, a single bead of sweat rolling down the side of his face.

"AH HAH! I knew that if I brought enough menos with me you would come running!" Grimmjow yelled with a manic grin. "Finally I get to repay the favor!"

Ichigo felt something he rarely ever felt: fear. The spiritual pressure was still four fifths as strong as it was when the menos were here. Ichigo was beginning to struggle to hold up his own weight. _So be it. He may have gotten stronger, but so have I._

"BAN," Grimmjow's eyes widened as he felt a wall of reishi hit him. "KAI!" Ichigo was engulfed in a red-black orb of energy. "Tensa Zangetsu," He finished. Grimmjow grinned.

"I see! You've been getting stronger too! This will be FUN! Show me what you go—"

Their swords crashed together in an instant, and Grimmjow jumped back. He lifted his sword straight above his head. "Grind," he began as he raked his nails down its length. "Pantera!"

Immediately Grimmjow yelled "Gran Rey Cero!" And a black beam of pure destructive energy shot from the dust cloud forced up by his Resurrecció n.

Ichigo flash stepped into the beam before it could hit any nearby buildings, disintegrating half of his robes, and crumbling the mask he put on to dust.

"Shit! Be more careful! You could have hurt civilians!"

"Do you really think I care? I came here to fight you! I figured if for some reason you weren't here, I would have some fun blowing shit up."

Grimmjow laughed.

"We are taking this elsewhere." Faster than the eye can see, Ichigo grabbed Grimmjow and flash stepped away from Karakura town, a few miles into the mountains. Ichigo through Grimmjow against a cliff face, flew back and raised his sword. "Getsuga," As his zanpakuto began to radiate red-black energy, he swung it through the air in a horizontal arc. "Tensho!"

The mountain behind Grimmjow shattered as he easily sidestepped, having already recovered.

In Soul Society.

"Captain! We have just detected a massive spike in spiritual pressure originating from hollows! It appears to be an arrancar and several hollows. Wait." The Department of R&D monitor paused. "Another pressure appeared! It's almost as huge as the hollows... and somewhat similar." Another pause. "All but the arrancar's and the second pressure's have disappeared!"

"What? Alert the head captain. Let him take care of this nuisance." Captain Kurotsuchi responded in his ever creepy voice.

(Small time lapse while the head captain is contacted)

"Captain! The head captain is sending Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Matsumoto to investigate."

"I told you to let the head captain deal with it. I don't care." The creepy scientist reiterated.

With Captain Hitsugaya

"Captain~" Rangiku whined, "Why do I have to go? I might break a nail if we have to fight! I spent all morning on these!"

Hitsugaya had already had a bad morning. Rangiku used all the hot water in the squad barracks that morning, and had then walked into his office naked complaining that she couldn't find her clothes. It appeared she had a hangover. Again. After locking her in the office so she wouldn't run around the Seireitei in her birthday suit, he went to find her clothes for her. He found them in plain sight, in the middle of the floor, where anyone with eyes would see them within three seconds of looking down. Apparently a hungover Rangiku didn't have eyes. Or maybe she did, and just didn't use them. Even after knowing her for years, dealing with her hangovers almost every day, he still couldn't predict anything she did.

He was reminded of that fact when he returned to his _empty_ office with her clothes, to find the window open. By this time, the tick mark at Toshiro's temple had grown to a size rivaling the empire state – he had heard that it was large, but otherwise had no clue what it was –

and _did_ end up chasing his lieutenant around the seireitei.

"No you didn't, you were running around all morning!" Hitsugaya almost yelled. He was at the end of his – recently – very short rope of patience.

"Fine. Let's just go through the Senkaimon already." Rangiku grumbled.

They walked out the Senkaimon the second before the mountain Ichigo scattered fell on top of them. _Great,_ Toshiro thought, _I just love getting crushed by mountains._

Ichigo didn't notice the Senkaimon open, or – spiritually oblivious as he was – sense their presence. Grimmjow was too focused on the fight to notice.

"C'mon Ichigo! You need to try harder than that!" An orb of light began to form in his hand as he raised his are straight in front of him. "Cero." Another less powerful beam of energy shot forth, this time grazing Ichigo's arm.

 **What the hell are you doing Kingy? Give me control! I don't wanna die!**

 _Hell no! You'll just destroy everything! I am never surrendering my soul to you again._

 **Fine then Kingy, get in here!**

Time froze.

Suddenly Ichigo was in his inner world face to face with his hollow on a skyscraper. "What the hell! You could not have picked a worse time! I..." Ichigo trailed off as he saw his hollow draw his white Tensa Zangetsu. Ichigo drew his black model in turn.

The hollow crashed into Ichigo without any warning, and he barely had time to block. "Stop! I don't have time for this!"

"Make time, Kingy!" His hollow howled. He seemed, for the first time since he appeared, genuinely afraid. The only thing he was afraid of was death. "I am _not_ dying because of you!"

"Well I'm not going to die because you pulled me in here!" Ichigo attacked the hollow with full force. Aside from sliding a few feet back, he didn't do anything.

"You weakling! I'm going to take control here and now! I am the new king! You are the horse!" With a manic laugh the hollow flung himself at Ichigo almost faster than the eye can see. Just before the hollow reached him, Ichigo raised his sword. The two impaled each other at the same time. As the two blades ran through their opponents, blue reishi began to flow from Ichigo to his hollow, and red-black reishi to Ichigo. They were merging.

The two souls began to blend together, and formed into one singular one. The result was similar to the form Ichigo took when he fought Ulquiorra. With his horned mask, hollow hole, and fully recovered bankai robes, Ichigo returned to reality.

As reality reformed around him, he saw Grimmjow flying towards him. Ichigo immediately sonido'd out of the way. As Grimmjow flew at him a second time, Ichigo realized something.

He had just used sonido. And he had his horned mask on. And, most importantly – and surprisingly – he was _thinking_. He had an idea and he felt time slow around him.

He reached out, and confirmed his suspicions. He could _feel_ the air. Or maybe the fabric of reality. Didn't matter. He closed his reaching fist, and held the fabric in his hand. He then pulled his hand down, and tore a garganta out of the air in front of him. Time sped up again, and Grimmjow flew through the garganta, looking absolutely pissed off. Ichigo quickly sealed the garganta again, and heard a rumbling sound.

He looked over to the rubble of the mountain, and witnessed a very, very angry Captain Hitsugaya, and a crying Rangiku, sobbing over her nails, wailing that her hard work was ruined.

As Toshiro looked over and saw Ichigo, he immediately drew his zanpakuto and raised it over his head. "Rain over the frosted heavens, Hyorinmaru!" Ichigo held up his katana, and easily blocked the ice dragon that crashed down on him.

Hitsugaya just stood there in shock. "How did you..." He froze as what he thought was the hollow making such a big fuss took off it's mask to reveal "ICHIGO KUROSAKI?"

"… H-hey Toshiro... long time no see?" Ichigo still had a hollow hole in his chest, even though he had dispelled the mask.

"EXPLAIN!" Hitsugaya nearly screamed. Damn gut. He just _knew_ this was going to be a bad day.

To be Continued...

 **Well, I hope you liked it! Please please please review! Remember this is my first story so go easy on me... and yes Nel will be in here later if you read the character tags. Thanks!**

 **-SpawnOfTheCore**


	2. Chapter 2: Teal Hair and bad news

**Chapter 2: Teal Hair and Bad News**

After explaining what happened in the best way Ichigo could (even he didn't know what happened), Toshiro stood in shock.

"So let me get this straight. You were fighting Grimmjow, then your inner hollow pulled you into your inner world and attacked you. You stabbed each other, and your souls merged?"

"Um. Yeah." Ichigo just stood there, having no idea what to do. Suddenly Toshiro turned around and stuck out his sword, turned it ninety degrees, and opened a senkaimon. "Where are you going?"

"To report to the head captain of course." Toshiro said cooly. "It is my duty as a Captain. Obviously."

Ichigo remained silent as the captain walked through the senkaimon. He looked up into the sky. The sun was setting. Uh oh. "MY BODY!"

He sonido'd back to school as fast as he could, noting that he could no longer flash step. He returned to school and saw an ambulance outside. Damn it. He had hoped this wouldn't happen.

He dashed to his body and got inside just before the paramedics shocked him with a defibrillator. "HEY HEY HEY I'M FINE!"

"Ah! What the hell?" The paramedics yelled.

Ichigo jumped up before they could restrain him, dashing out of the crowd and running in the direction of home.

He reached the door and paused. He went up and put his ear up against it. Slowly... slowly... he opened the door. And sure enough: "WELCOME HOOOOOOME ICHIGOOOOOOOOOOOOO! YOU'RE LATE!" Ichigo leaned to the right and his dad flew right past him.

He walked through the door. "Hey Yuzu, what's for dinner?" He lifted his leg behind him into his father's incoming groin as he once again leapt at Ichigo.

"What the hell old man?"

Isshin ran and smacked himself up against the picture of ichigo's mother. "MASAKI! OUR SON IS SO MEAN TO ME!"

"I WOULDN'T HIT YOU IF YOU WEREN'T CONSTANTLY TRYING TO CRIPPLE ME!" Ichigo yelled.

"Calm down Ichi! Dad, you need to stop being mean to Ichi!" Yuzu pouted.

"Yeah that'll happen. Maybe when it starts raining children." Karin entered in her ever sarcastic tone. "Ichi-nii, can you hit him harder next time? Maybe he won't have the strength to get up and complain to mom's picture.

Isshin just turned around and sobbed into the picture of his late wife sobbing something along the lines of his family turning against him.

"I'm going to my room." Ichigo turned and walked up the stairs.

He didn't feel that tired, but when he sat down on his bed, he fell over asleep.

 _Where am I?_ He woke up in an odd space, similar to his inner world, but there were no skyscrapers. It was instead formed of mountains. Some of them were massive, some were more like large hills. But he noticed in the distance a dark cloud. A very dark cloud. He started walking over but, to his surprise, he was there almost immediately. It was then he realized he was dreaming.

He looked around the land, and he noticed that wherever there was a shadow under the cloud, it wasn't just dimmer. It was pitch black. Then something caught his eye. A white ghostly figure walked just around the corner of what he figured must be a mountain (it's not like he could see it). Just as he was about to follow, he heard a very familiar voice say ,"Wait."

"Old man Zangetsu? What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked, actually startled.

"If you walk into that darkness, your soul will split again, but this time your hollow will be much stronger than you. There is no question he would take control. That ghost you saw was an echo of the hollow's will, which of course wants your soul to split so he can be in control."

"Oh. Thanks for warning me." Ichigo was greatly alarmed. He had almost brought a blight on the world that would require several captains to stop. "What is this place?"

"This is your new inner world. When your soul merged, its fundamental properties changed. That's never happened before, as far as anyone knows, so it would make sense that many things would change. But there is one last thing I need to do."

"And what is that?" Ichigo asked.

"Let me ask you: what do you think Soul Society will do when they hear that a soul reaper fused their soul with a hollow?"

"I just want to keep being a soul reaper." Ichigo was confused. He hadn't yet realized what really happened

"That's not what I asked. Let me ask a follow up question. What happened when a soul reaper bound their soul to a hollow?"

"Like the vizards? They were banished from... Soul... Society. Oh. Shit."

"Exactly. Now that you have fused your soul with a hollow, Central 46 will undoubtedly order your execution. What I need to do is give you the power to protect yourself."

"How will you do that?" Ichigo was not only confused. He was confused and worried.

"I'm going to fuse my soul with yours." Zangetsu drew his sword – which was kinda weird since he was drawing himself.

"Wait! Does that mean you will disappear too?"

"No. There will be an echo of my will as well. It will not appear as often, but 'I' will be there. When I fuse my soul with you, you will have power greater than that of every hollow in Hueco Mundo, every soul in Soul society, and every living entity in the world of the living combined. You will have to be careful though. When your soul merged with the hollow's, your combined reishi was condensed so small that a single particle of your new reishi is equal to 500 particles of your new reishi. When I fuse with you, one particle will be equal to 5000 normal particles. You originally had power greater than twice that of a captain. You will now have over 10,000 times the power of a captain. Exerting 5 percent of your power will crush the head captain to the ground. 10 would kill every being in any given realm. 15 percent would crush the earth."

Ichigo was _almost_ speechless. "How will I keep control of all of that power?"

"I will seal away 85 percent when I fuse with you, and my echo will seal 10. The last five you will have to control yourself. Let's begin." Zangetsu literally threw himself at Ichigo's chest. Hoping it worked like it did with his hollow, he raised his sword straight in front of him.

They impaled each other at the same time, and the same reishi transfer occurred. Suddenly, Ichigo felt an immense pain on his chest and face.

Ichigo's eyes opened and he gasped for air. When he looked down, or attempted to, he saw his father with his elbow in his face, and shoulder on his chest. His father had knocked the wind out of him, and given him a bloody nose. Damn goat.

"What the hell old man?" Ichigo was pissed. Which was bad. Very bad. His own spiritual pressure was crushing his father onto his chest.

Ichigo took a deep breath, or tried to, and lowered his spiritual pressure.

"Ichigo. What was that?" Isshin asked him a little too calmly. Like, Unohana calmly. Ichigo shuttered at the thought.

"I'm going to be late for school! Bye!" He dashed downstairs and grabbed a quick egg that Yuzu had made. He ran out the door with a burning hand and ran a solid block before he slowed to a walk. He probably had 3 broken ribs.

"SUPERSPEED!" An adorable voice yelled. Ichigo looked up.

"Oh, no." He said just before he felt a face shaped mask slam into his chest.

"ITSYGO! NEL'S SO SORRY!" Nel was at the verge of tears. "Don't worry I'll fix it!" Nel ran at Ichigo and began to drool.

"Nel it's okay! Im fine!" Though Ichigo's high speed regeneration that he gained from fusing with his hollow wasn't nearly as fast in his body as it was in soul form, but it was still there.

"Are you sure Itsygo? Nel can fix it!" Nel fretted, still drooling. She was like an evil toddler.

Realizing she wouldn't stop unless he made her, he exerted a fraction of a fraction of a percent of pressure, figuring it wouldn't take much to stop in child form. She did pause, but she started up again after a moment. He released a little more, and an odd look appeared on her face. Suddenly a pink aura erupted around her. Ichigo watched as her small form grew and became much more... developed.

"Nel's big!" She said in surprise. "Thanks Ichigo! Your spiritual pressure seeped through the crack in my mask and sealed it! I think I need to be around you relatively often to keep it sealed though." Nel grinned. Then she threw her arms around his neck and tackled him. "I've missed you so much Ichigo! You seem... different."

"Well, I did fuse with my hollow... so that's probably why my reishi sealed your mask." Then he realized something. "Wait Nel! Why aren't you in Hueco Mundo? Don't you need to be there to eat?"

"No. Arrancars don't have to eat souls to survive. Though it is the most effective method. We can eat food, we just have to eat more." Nel explained.

"Oh. Ok. Are you hungry?"

"A little." She replied.

They went to a fast food restaurant a few blocks away and ordered. Ichigo got a quarter pound hamburger with Swiss cheese and lettuce (cause tomato is gross), and Nel got about 4 pounds worth of French Fries, burgers, and a fish sandwich. Weird combo.

"Wow. You weren't lying when you said you had to eat a lot," Ichigo said as he felt his significantly lighter wallet.

"Sorry Ichi. I just haven't eaten in a long time. Even when I do eat, the crack in my mask releases the bulk of what I consume." She started to lift up her shirt to show him her ribs.

"Hey hey hey! You don't have to show me I believe you." He said quickly, utilizing his apparently greatly enhanced reflexes to stop her from lifting it anywhere above her belly button. (When she had grown some energy was used to form more wholesome clothes.)

By the time Nel had finished eating her mountain of food, Ichigo noticed that when he focused, he could feel a slight decrease in his spiritual pressure. He then realized the slight increase in Nel's. Ah hah! He had just found another way to control his spiritual pressure.

They spent a while walking around, catching up on what had happened in their lives, and felt a small spike in the density of reishi in the area. Ichigo checked and made sure he hadn't let a little extra slip out of himself, he closed his eyes and, when he opened them, looked through all the spirit ribbons in the immediate area. He saw three red ribbons.

Nel looked up, sensing what was coming. "Um... Itsygo?" the teal haired arrancar whimpered.

"I know. This is bad news."

He slowly felt the pressure grow closer, and immediately suppressed as much reishi as he could. "Nel. Suppress your reishi. Quick!" Nel immediately complied, only a trickle of energy radiated from them now, but they were still approaching. "Run!"

They started sprinting to Ichigo's house. Which, of course, was pretty predictable. As they arrived at the house, they saw Toshiro Hitsugaya, Soifon, and Sajin Komamura. All of them had their zanpakuto drawn. "Sting all enemies to death! Suzumebachi!" She swept her hand along the now _very_ sharp stinger. "Ichigo Kurosaki, come with us. Bring the arrancar as well."

Ichigo, protective as ever proclaimed, "I will go with you but leave Nel alone."

"I'm sorry Ichigo, but it's the head captain's orders." Toshiro said. But he was looking at him carefully. Even he didn't trust him.

Fine then. Ichigo tore a garganta out of reality, grabbed Nel, and threw her through after giving her a solid amount of reishi to keep her form. About a weeks worth. That was all he would need.

 **Well guys, there it is. I'm warning you now, this will** _ **not**_ **continue to update every day. I just had an idea in my head bouncing around for a while so the first few words flowed like magic, it will get slower. Also, I need a beta, so if you want a to get the next chapter a little early, pm me and you might get picked. Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, here's the next chapter.**

 **Translations:**

Ōbushīrudo – orb shield

Kyohi kabe – rejecting wall

Kakusareta shīrudo – hidden wall.

 **Chapter 3**

"Regular Speech"

" _Thoughts_ "

" **Hollow Speech** "

Ichigo tore his hand though the air, opening a garganta and throwing Nel in after making sure to give her enough raitsu to allow her to maintain her form for at least a week.

Just as the garganta closed, Soifon and Hitsugaya flew at him, swords aimed for his heart. Komamura raised his zanpakuto and yelled "Tenken!" Causing a massive spectral sword to fall down from above.

Ichigo swept his hand up, causing a wave of reishi five times as dense as normal reishi to rise up and form a wall in front of him. Komamura's spectral sword along with Hitsugaya's and Soi Fon's zanpakuto crashed into and glanced off the massive shield. "Huh," mused Ichigo. "I didn't know I could do that." Then looking towards the still disorientated captains, said, "Well, Captains, if you're done attacking me, you should open a senkaimon and we can get going."

The captains narrowed their eyes suspiciously, but opened the gate. Marching in, Soifon, with suzumebachi pointed at the back of his neck, and Toshiro with Hyorinmaru at his Adam's apple, escorted Ichigo through the senkaimon.

They arrived in Soul Society seconds later with the aid of hell butterflies. Ichigo immediately felt raw power filling him. He could feel the reishi around him. Unlike when he could just feel the air, here he knew he could not only create garganta, but bend the reishi – and therefore reality – around him to his will. He would have to try that later.

As he walked through the seireitei with his three escorts (They made the intelligent decision not to add any regular soul reapers), he passed a few of the squad barracks. Captain Shunsui Kyoraku lay on a mat with Nanao flitting around him with paperwork. As Ichigo passed by though, Shunsui looked up with interest. Focusing on something only he could see for a split second, his eyes widened. He looked at the escorts with fear. He was scared for them.

Captain Jushiro Ukitake looked on in pity, though who for it was hard to tell. As per the usual, his two lieutenants buzzing around him, competing to be the best.

The last barracks they walked by were squad eleven. None other than captain Kenpachi Zaraki stood there staring with fire in his eyes. "Hey Ichigo! I swear, if you die before you fight me again I will fucking kill you!" The escorts sped up a little at this. They knew what the verdict would be, and didn't want to get their asses kicked by Kenpachi.

Finally, they arrived at squad one barracks, and entered the Head Captain's quarters. Ichigo stood in front of Genryusai Yamamoto. "Ichigo Kurosaki!" The Head Captain boomed. "You have become a blight on the Soul Society. Central 46 has decided that you are to be executed by the Sokyoku on Sokyoku hill. Though I would much rather not take such extreme measures, Central 46's orders are indisputable. You will be in a cell in the prison for 5 days, and your family and friends will be interrogated in four." Ichigo's eyes narrowed at this. "On the sixth day you will report to Sokyoku hill at noon. That is all."

Ichigo was escorted back to a cell in squad 2 barracks. He, though unthrilled with being locked up by the captain who likely hates him the most, was excited to see what he could do with this reishi saturated dimension.

Day 1:

The first morning was rather horrible. He woke up to a bucket of cold water on his face. The worst part? It was just some obscure stealth force member. They couldn't even bother that fatass lieutenant to get up and do it. He could just imagine the fatso eating his chips, watching little kitten videos, and complaining to Soifon simultaneously. The nerve.

He wasn't even fed. _Some_ people actually need food, ya know. Damn dead people.

He began to experiment with the air, first opening the smallest garganta possible, just to make sure he could. It would be unfortunate if he didn't have an escape route.

He then tried bending the bars of the cell. Though he met some resistance, it wasn't very difficult to make a hole large enough for him to slip through. He replaced the bars how they were. He didn't want his captors knowing he could get out any time.

Obviously, his zanpakuto was taken from him when they imprisoned him, but he couldn't think of a way to access it. Then, suddenly, he heard a familiar voice. "Ichigo... call my name Ichigo..."

"Zangetsu?" Ichigo said in surprise. Suddenly, he felt a weight in his hand that wasn't there before. He looked down. "Whoa. That's cool." Zangetsu was in his hand. Except it was made of red-black reishi. It felt exactly the same as when he put on his mask, but it was made with reishi similar to that used in getsuga.

"I know what you're thinking, and yes it works like getsuga." Ichigo drew his arms back. "No! Don't throw it! The destruction will draw everyone towards you. Just let go and it will dissipate."

Ichigo opened his hand and, as Zangetsu explained, the reishi blade dissipated. "cool."

"You probably shouldn't let the guards see you do that. I have no idea what possessed them not to put you in a cell with seki seki stone. At least then all you could do is open a garganta to escape. Though you are incredibly powerful, you do have limits."

Good to know. He needed to know his limits. If he was to protect his family, he would have to be able to avoid any limiting factors.

Well, now that he could defend himself, he continued his experimenting. He knew he could throw up a solid wall of reishi as a shield, but he wanted to see if he could manipulate the properties of that reishi as well. First he tried to add an explosive effect to it, similar to Orihime's Shiten Koshun, but that didn't work. Next, he tried adding an absorption filter, which would weaken reishi bonds and disperse an attack that hit the shield – much like Uryu's Seele Schneider – making it more durable.

Success! That worked. Good. Kido would be a bitch if he couldn't diffuse it. No matter how strong the shield was, if an explosion did manage to get through, it would hurt. A lot.

Next, he tried to expand the utility of the shield, attempting to layer it. That didn't work, so he tried to surround himself in an orb. That did. He could tell the shield was weaker, but it would prove much more versatile.

Finally, he added a light filter in, to create camouflage. This also worked. Cool.

He was done training. Now he would wait a day, then make his escape.

Day two:

Another unpleasant morning. Don't these people know he saved them? No respect. Anyway, now he could figure out what to do to get back to the human world. So, he waited for the guards to walk out of earshot, and bent the bars apart. He stepped out and crept along the squad two barracks. If Soifon caught him in a sonido he would have to deal with just about every soul reaper in the seireitei.

He sensed a group approaching around the corner. He ducked into a gap in the wall, "Kakusareta shīrudo." He whispered, and threw up a wall of concealing reishi. The group walked past, thankfully turning before they got to the empty cell. "That's cool. And _very_ useful."

He walked out of the indent and kept walking. He crept around the corner, silencing his footsteps, and walked right into a squad member. Thank God for increased reflexes. He almost immediately knocked the member out before he could make a sound. Close one.

Ichigo finally made it outside of the barracks, and started walking down one of the roads in the seireitei. He sonido'd over to Kyoraku's barracks. Ichigo figured if anyone would open a senkaimon for him, it would be Shunsui.

He sonido'd into the captains quarters, but no one was there. Oddly enough, there was, of all things, a radio playing. "'Undah dah sea, undah dah sea, down where it's wettah, here take a sweatah, undah dah sea!'" It chimed. For some reason, Ichigo was pretty sure someone changed the lyrics. Weird.

Anyway, he figured that he could wait a while. He backed up into a corner, drew his hands up and called, "Kakusareta shīrudo." A wall of concealing reishi formed in front of him, and he closed his eyes.

Time skip

Slam!

"What do you mean Ichigo disappeared?" He heard Captain Ukitake ask.

"It's not like I would know. Soifon called me to her barracks to ask me if I had seen him." Ichigo heard Captain Kyoraku's laid back voice. "It's not like he's going to try to destroy the seireitei or anything. He has no motivation to do it, and even if he did, he's not the kind of person that would. Honestly, he's probably just trying to find a way out of the seireitei back home."

 _Wow, he hit the nail on the head. He may be lazy, but he's really intelligent. Maybe he'll be the next head captain. Wait, what am I saying the current one isn't going anywhere._

"Anyway, if there's nothing else Jushiro, I'm going to take a nap."

"Okay. Well, tell me if you see him. He might not be the same person as he was before he became hollow." Jushiro walked out of the room. Ouch.

"Okay, you can come out now Ichigo." Kyoraku said.

Ichigo dispersed the reishi wall. "How did you know I was here?"

"I could feel your spiritual pressure from outside. Jushiro was just too excited to notice." Kyoraku began. "So Ichigo, was I correct in assuming you aren't going to try to destroy the Soul Society?"

"I have no reason to destroy the Soul Society. Though they may be trying to execute me, I'm not going to punish every soul reaper in the Seireitei for Central 46's idiotic decisions. I just want to go home. As long as you leave me alone, you'll never see me again. If you don't, I'll fight you off until you leave me alone. So... are you going to open me a senkaimon or what?"

"Ichigo, you know that would be treason on my part, right?... Though, life is no fun when you follow all the rules." Shunsui drew one of his twin Zanpakuto and held it out in front of him. He turned it ninety degrees t to the right, and a senkaimon opened. "Oh, and Ichigo... I am going to have to report that you overpowered me and forced me to do this. You are aware of that?"

"Yes."

"Okay then, go right ahead. If you would excuse me, I have a report to have Nanao go file." Ichigo went through the senkaimon chuckling.

Unfortunately, he was sent right into a group of soul reapers. They must have heard of his escape and were guarding the precipice world. Looks like Yamamoto really was intelligent after all. Or maybe it was Central 46 making all the decisions. He didn't know anymore.

After a little fist fighting his way out of the crowd, he sonido'd to the exit with tattered bankai robes. Of course, of all places, he landed in the underground of Urahara's shop. "Damn you Shunsui!" He could picture that goofy grin on his face at this moment, probably knowing there had been soul reapers in the precipice world. That captain had a lot of faith in him. He could have easily killed all those soul reapers, but Kyoraku knew he wouldn't. At least someone believed he was still good.

"Well hello there Ichigo," he heard a familiar teasing voice. "I just knew you couldn't stay away."

Ichigo looked to his left and saw a – thankfully – submerged Yoruichi in the hot springs. _Last time I was here, those weren't. Why did they have to add them?_ He thought. Suddenly, Yoruichi's eyes grew wide.

"Wow... I heard you had fused with your hollow, but I didn't think your spirit energy would change this much. Or grow this much... I wonder if anything else grew..." Yoruichi's eyes drifted down as she stood up.

"AH! I'm gonna go find Urahara! Bye!" Ichigo sprinted like his life depended on it. He almost flew up the ladder into the shop. When he got to the top, he walked through the shop until he got to the front, where he found Kisuke. "Hey Kisuke, did you have to put in a damn hot spring?"

"Ah! Mr. Kurosaki! I figured you would show up sooner or later. What do you need?"

"I need help getting stronger." Kisuke turned and looked at him in surprise.

"Why the hell would you need –" he paused when he saw Ichigo. "What happened to _you_?"

So Ichigo told him the tale of how he got 'detained' and escaped.

"Impressive. Well, I can't think of how I could help you train. It's not like you couldn't destroy the Soul Society on a whim."

"I need help controlling my spiritual pressure." Ichigo began. "I know I can use it to defend myself, but I can't risk hurting my family. With the control I have now, if they were anywhere near me they could get hurt. If I had to fight the head captain, I could kill them."

"Okay. I'll train you. Just like old times. Except this time we only have 1 day instead of thirteen."

"Ooh! Does this mean I get to see your Bankai?" Ichigo asked excitedly.

"Patience Ichigo. I can't use it unless the author knows what it is. You will just have to wait till Thursday when the next chapter of the manga comes out."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ichigo was confused.

"I promise it will be cool though."

"Okay..."

Yoruichi then walked in, thankfully fully clothed. "Talking about me? I'm sure Ichigo wants to know a lot of things about me."

Ichigo went red at this. "Actually he was asking me for help controlling his spiritual pressure." With that they descended down the ladder and began. "First, let's test your defensive capabilities. 'Scream' Benihime!" He launched an arc of crimson energy at Ichigo.

"Whoa! Kyohi kabe!" A wall of reishi swept up in front of him.

"Interesting. That's a handy power you got there. Let's see how you take this one." He jumped up into the air. "Shibari, Benihime!" A net of crimson energy flew at Ichigo from above.

"Ōbushīrudo!" Ichigo shouted. An orb of reishi flew up around him.

"Hiasobi, Benihime!" Kisuke stabbed the net covering ichigo's shield. There was a rather large explosion. Like, a crater was in its place. Miraculously, the orb of reishi was still there. "Well Ichigo, I think it's safe to say your defensive capabilities are immense. Now you are going to practice attacking with your spiritual pressure without hitting others. That starts tomorrow.

By this point Ichigo was pretty damn tired. He slept till morning.

Day three:

Ichigo woke to a fresh dose of PTSD. Aka a nice cold bucket of water to the face. "WHAT THE HELL YORUICHI?"

"Morning Ichigo." She said sweetly.

"Damn exhibitionists. All of them are sadistic." He muttered as he got out of bed and got dressed, not realizing Yoruichi was still watching him.

"Thanks for the show, Ichigo." She grinned and strutted out of the room. As Ichigo's face turned into a strawberry.

Ichigo made his way to the training ground. When he got there, he discovered a range of rocks set up in rings all over the place.

"Good morning Ichigo. What you are going to do today is try to break as few rocks as possible in each ring, with a minimum of one. In other words, break one rock in the ring. Break any more, you fail.

"I know how I can control that! I'll be right back." Ichigo tore a garganta into reality and stepped through.

Grimmjow was waiting on the other side. "I don't have time for you." Ichigo released 3 percent of his spiritual pressure to be safe, and Grimmjow was crushed to the ground. Ichigo casually walked by. He stopped. "Oh, have you seen Neliel? I need her back."

"Just call her name. God knows she's so in love with you she would hear you from Soul Society." Grimmjow snarled.

After a bit of blushing, Ichigo called out. "Nel? Wanna come back to the human world with me?"

After a minute of waiting he heard: "ITSYGO~! I missed you so much!" She yelled as she tackled him, arms around his neck.

"Why aren't you being crushed too?" Grimmjow managed to grind out.

"Oh, I just absorb Itsy's raitsu. Turns out that I don't even need to eat when he's around." She grinned.

"Bye bye, Grimmjow!" She said happily as Ichigo opened another garganta and they walked through.

Ichigo and Nel walked back into Kisuke's... 'basement.' "Well who is this lovely lady?" Kisuke asked.

"Hands off!" Ichigo shouted as he slugged Kisuke in the gut when he reached out and tried to grab Nel. Ichigo didn't even realize he had his arm around her.

"Hypocrite." Kisuke went to throw a fit in a corner.

"Anyway," Ichigo began, "I need some help Nel. Do you think you could absorb some of my excess raitsu when I use it to attack enemies? I don't want it hurting my friends when the whole point of the attack is to protect them. You seemed perfect since you're immune to my power."

"Of course! I'd do anything for you Ichi!" Nel chirped happily.

 _Anything, huh... NO! BAD ICHIGO! It's not like that..._ Grimmjow's words echoed in his head. _I think._

Then he heard what he thought sounded suspiciously like his hollow laughing. _Damn echo._

 **HA! Remember, I can't influence you if you don't already want it on some level...**

Ichigo chose to forget about that. "Okay Nel, let's get going." They walked over to the center of one of the rings, and Ichigo focused on one of the rocks. He placed Nel directly behind him, trying to ignore certain objects pressing on his back.

"Okay, here we go." He released some raitsu. Half the rocks shattered. "Damn."

"I'm so sorry Itsy! It's all my fault!" Nel pouted.

"It's okay Nel. It's not your fault." Ichigo consoled her. "We can't expect the first try to go perfect."

After a few more times, Ichigo managed to narrow it down to 3 rocks. It was at that point he noticed Kisuke struggling to stand. "That's some woman you got there. Good... night..." He proceeded to pass out and sleep. After Ichigo moved him to the other side of the training ground by the ladder, they continued training. By the end of the day, he got it to two rocks.

Nel smiled happily, "Glad I could help Itsy!" Ichigo drifted up to bed. He was so tired that he didn't even notice when Nel got in the bed and cuddled up beside him.

 **Hey Guys! Sorry about the long wait for this one, but I had other stuff to do too. I hope you liked the chapter! Btw, if anyone got the Dunkey reference, comment. I love you. I'm pleased to say I no longer need a beta, and even more pleased that my beta is Astromormy, whose story, Equal to None, was what inspired me! Thanks dude. Thanks for all the positive reviews! Keep up the R &Rs! You guys are great.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Translations:**

Ōbushīrudo – orb shield

Kyohi kabe – rejecting wall

Kakusareta shīrudo – hidden wall.

Lanzador Verde – Spanish: green lancer. Japanese: Jade lance.

Salvaje Verde Atravesar - Savage Jade Pierce.

 **Hey there! Once again, thanks for all the R &Rs! I read one yesterday and it made my day. Thanks for all the positive support! Hopefully I can continue to impress.**

 **Chapter 4**

"Normal Speech"

" **Hollow Speech"**

' _Thoughts_ '

Day 4:

Ichigo woke up feeling warm. Not a sweaty, uncomfortable warm, but a warm feeling like waking up on a winter morning and snuggling into the blankets. That wonderful kind of warm that makes you never want to wake up. Then he realized what was so amazingly warm. "AH!"

"What's wrong, Ichi?" Nel awoke with a start.

"When did you... what happened last night?"

"You were so tired, you fell right to sleep. You were training all day yesterday, remember?" Nel reminded him, giggling.

"Oh... yeah," said Ichigo, dazed. He remembered what day it was. His eyes widened. "Kisuke! Go alert my friends! I'm going to my house," He yelled downstairs. Then jumping out the window, he ran towards home with Nel close behind.

Unfortunately, as he approached home, he felt very, very high spiritual pressure approaching his house at an alarming rate. Realizing that at the pace they were moving, they wouldn't get there in time, he yelled back, "Come on Nel, we need to sonido the rest of the way." So they did, both disappearing in an instant. And boy, did they go fast. They made it into Ichigo's room just as they heard a knock on the door. "Dad! Soul Society's here! Get ready for a fight!"

"MY SON! WHEN DID YOU GET HO— A WOMEN! OH MASAKI, OUR SON HAS FINALLY BECOME A MAN!" Isshin ran to the poster of his late wife crying in happiness. Until what Ichigo said registered. "Oh. Ok then." He left his gigai behind, drawing Engetsu as the front door was knocked in.

Two captains walked in the door. "Kurosaki! Please come quietly! No one has to get hurt any more from your rash actions." It was Toshiro... and Soifon. Why her? She hated him the most out of anyone.

"Hey Toshiro," Ichigo answered. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going with you. I have more important things to do." The two captains drew their Zanpakuto. Ichigo began to as well but...

"Don't worry Itsygo... I'll make quick work of them for you." She grinned. "Every second I'm with you I get stronger." She stepped forward as Ichigo smiled as well. She immediately tore a garganta and sonido'd to snag the two captains. "Come on Itsy, wanna watch?" She asked cutely. Then she beckoned to him as she walked through the garganta with Ichigo following close behind.

"Dad, you stay here. Make sure more don't come for Yuzu and Karin." Then he walked through the garganta.

As he stepped into Hueco Mundo he saw quite a beautiful display. He saw Nel hold her sword out in front of her horizontally. "'Declare!' Gamuza!" A massive rush of pink raitsu engulfed Nel and the immediate area around her. When it cleared, he saw her in her centaur-like form.

He suddenly remembered her fight with Nnoitra. " _I was able to return to this form because you brought the little me here and protected me the entire time. Now it's my turn to protect you_." Her words from long ago echoed in his head.

"This is your last chance shinigami. Return to Soul Society while you still can and never come back." Nel wore the serious look on her face that she had when she told Nnoitra she wouldn't fight him.

"We don't take orders from hollows. Though you may be closer to a Soul Reaper than most, there is still a hole where your heart once was. You are disgusting." Soifon spat.

Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "They're going to regret that."

"I may have no heart, but I do have feelings. Not all hollows are soulless monsters." Nel retorted. "Let's go Gamuza." She immediately unleashed a massive amount of reiatsu. Now it dawned on Ichigo. His and Nel's reiatsu was extremely similar. Now he knew why she just absorbed his excess reiatsu, instead of being crushed by it. And with a _very_ powerful effect. Her spiritual pressure alone had the Captains struggling to stand.

Soifon looked at Nel in horror and disgust. Toshiro turned to Ichigo with wide eyes. "What have you done with her? How is she this powerful, Ichigo?"

"Every second she spends with me, she absorbs my reiatsu. She could be just as strong as me." Ichigo said grinning. "Run while you still can."

Toshiro did the smart thing. He opened a senkaimon to report to the head captain. Soifon did the stupid thing. She Flash Stepped behind Nel and brought her already released suzumebachi towards the gothic three on Nel's back.

Yeah. Stupid thing.

Nel swung around and grabbed Soifon's forearm. She proceeded to stab Soifon through the stomach. "How..." She coughed, "did you..." Her eyes glazed over.

Ichigo's eyes widened. "Um, Nel? I don't think Yoruichi will be very pleased if you kill her favorite pupil..."

"Oops! Oh no Itsy! What do I –?" Nel threw the second captain into a sand dune. "I see you are very skilled in kido as well, O great Captain." She mocked.

"Shunko!" Soifon cried as she shed her captain's haori. White reishi erupted from her back. Suddenly she had no trouble moving, and her stomach wound closed. "I refuse to fall to a disgusting hollow! I will kill you!"

"Maybe this will be fun after all!" Nel exclaimed. "I normally don't like fighting, but if it's for Itsygo, I would take on all of Soul Society and love every second!"

Soifon Flash Stepped behind Nel with Suzumebachi aimed once again at the gothic three. Nel jabbed her in the stomach with her elbow, and once again she flew into a sand dune. Nel drew her lance arm back. "Lanzador Verde." With insane speed the lance flew towards Soifon. If it was any other Soul Reaper in Soul Society, their head would have been drilled through. But it was Captain Soifon of the stealth force. She just barely managed to – mostly – dodge the spear, with just a shallow wound on her cheek. This time she dashed toward Nel head on, with the grace of a falcon. As she reached Nel, she delivered a massive kido-charged punch straight to Nel's stomach. Or, at least she tried to. Nel simply caught her fist and twisted her arm until she heard a crack. It was at that point that Nel called Gamuza to her. "Come, Gamuza." As Gamuza flew to Nel's hand, she flung Soifon to the ground and stepped on her chest to keep her in place. Then, she rested the spear over Soifon's right lung. "Salvaje Verde Atravesar." She said sadly. Gamuza pierced through Soifon's ribs and punctured her lung.

Soifon coughed up blood. "I will not fall to a filthy hollow. Arrancars are just a mockery of shinigami." Blood drizzled from the corner of her mouth. "I hate my Bankai. It is much too loud and flashy for my taste. It is not fit for an assassin. However, in times like this, I am forced to use it... Bankai," she began. "Jakuho Raikoben." A large missile launcher appeared around her arm as a pillar of yellow-gold reiatsu shot into the sky. "Goodbye, arrancar scum." She finished as she jumped back, aimed, and fired.

Ichigo, fearing for his own safety, called up his mask. "Ōbushīrudo," he said, throwing up his hand.

Nel drilled the biggest hole she could in the sand and ducked down. Needless to say, the explosion was massive. Ichigo, though he couldn't see, _felt_ the mass of reiatsu used in the attack. It was almost as much as his own. Scary.

When the explosion ended, Ichigo took the shield down. He then beheld the devastation that was the landscape around him. There was a massive crater in front of him, and at the very bottom, was Neliel. "Nel! Get up! Please!" Ichigo was paralyzed with worry. He actually couldn't move as Soifon, panting, aproached Nel in shikai. Nel's Heirro was all but destroyed. It wouldn't protect her now.

"'Kick about!' Los Lobos!" He heard a thundering, but somehow lazy, voice boom. It was at that moment that Soifon, who had just reached Nel, turned to see who it was.

And immediately took a Cero to the face.

Had she been anything less powerful than a captain, her head would have been disintegrated. Instead, she was just knocked out; she wouldn't wake for a while.

"I really would have preferred to continue sleeping, but Lilynette insisted that I see what was going on." A man walked up to Ichigo. "I see. You are the one who defeated Aizen."

"Who are you?" Ichigo asked. Anyone that could hit the fastest Shinigami in Soul Society with a surprise Cero must be incredibly powerful.

"Coyote Starrk." He raised his left hand and pulled off his glove to reveal... a gothic one. "Primera Espada."

"Wow. You are deserving of your rank." Ichigo sonido'd over to Nel and picked her up bridal style. To his surprise, Starrk appeared next to him. "What do you want?"

"… is that _Neliel_? It's been a while. I have nothing better to do, so can I come with you?" Stark asked.

"Um... ok." Ichigo was a bit stunned. "Anyway, let's go." He opened a garganta and they stepped through to their house. Isshin acted like a dumbass as usual.

"WELCOME BAAAAAACK~ ICHIGOOOOOO~!"

"Call Orihime," Ichigo said after kicking his ridiculous father in the face. "I'll be right back." Ichigo took Soifon to Urahara and left her outside the door after knocking. He then sonido'd back to Orihime's house. "Orihime, I need you."

Orihime went red at this, but was startled when Ichigo grabbed her and Sonido'd to his house. When she saw Nel, she immediately knew what to do. A few long hours later, she was done. It was at that point that she noticed Starrk and screamed. "You're... You're... why are you here? Get away from me!"

Ichigo was confused. "What's wrong?"

"He's the one... who took me to Aizen's throne room after Grimmjow freed me." She whimpered.

Ichigo swung around and glared at Starrk. "Zangetsu." A red black reishi sword formed in his hand. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't obliterate you right now." At this point everyone that was conscious was scared. Nel was smiling; she was absorbing Ichigo's reiatsu in her sleep.

Starrk, though starting to sweat a bit on the inside, kept his cool. "I'll give you two," he began calmly. "One: if you attack, it is likely you will destroy the house and everyone in it. Two: I was only doing my job. I didn't _want_ to kidnap your friend, I was _ordered_ to. I actually quite like humans; they interest me." That little speech calmed Ichigo down quite a bit.

"I-I-Itsygo?" He heard a weak voice call his adorable nickname. He almost immediately dashed to Nel's side.

"Hey there," he smiled, "Are you doing okay?" He asked. Nel suddenly clutched the mask on her head. The crack was wider. "Orihime, can you heal her mask?"

She walked over and said, "I think so. I wasn't really focusing on the mask. I kinda forgot she had it for a second." The mask closed up, but not before a substantial amount of reiatsu came rushing out.

"I feel really weak... come closer, Ichigo." He leaned in, and he felt her arms wrap around him. He felt some of his reiatsu draining rather quickly, but he was happy to help Nel. At least until she kissed him. At that point his mind blacked out for what seemed like hours, but he heard the door slam and a few sobs outside just seconds later. He snapped out of his trance and looked around. Starrk had dozed off in a chair, and Orihime was nowhere to be seen. He opened the front door and saw Orihime's retreating back. He sonido'd over to her.

"What's wrong Orihime?" He asked in concern. She didn't answer with anything other than pushing him out of the way to continue running. The message was clear.

'I don't want to talk to you right now.'

Ichigo returned to his house. "Did I do something wrong?" He asked Nel. She just shrugged.

' _I've won. He's mine now._ ' Nel smiled to herself. Orihime should stop pursuing him now. She tried to get up. She wobbled a little, but she managed to stand steadily after a minute. "I need to train more. If a single captain could beat me, I'm not strong enough. I'm going to go to Kisuke's training ground." She gave Ichigo a quick peck on her way out. He just stood there stunned.

He looked around, but the only one there was Starrk, and he was asleep. Suddenly he felt _very_ tired. He just manage to get to the couch. He was asleep before he hit the cushions.

 **Thanks once again to my Beta Reader Astromormy! I'm sorry for the waiting, but you can probably expect 2-3 updates a month (unless I'm really inspired for some reason.) Now, because I don't think we ever saw Starrk specifically perish, I thought it would be cool to have him in the story. Also, I chose to repress the memory of Lilynette dying, soooooo... yeah. And by the way, the training Nel is going through is going to be** _ **very**_ **fruitful. R &R please~!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Translations:**

Ōbushīrudo – orb shield

Kyohi kabe – rejecting wall

Kakusareta shīrudo – hidden wall.

Lanzador Verde – Spanish: green lancer. Japanese: Jade lance.

Salvaje Verde Atravesar - Savage Jade Pierce.

Midarana sutoraiki – Lustful Strike

Danza de la Muerte Verde – Jade Dance of Death

 **Here's the next one.**

 **"Hollow speech"**

" _thoughts"_

"Normal speech"

Ichigo opened his eyes slowly to the nearly blinding light laying waste to his eyes. "Wah? What time is it?"

"It's 11 am Itsy. Tuesday." Nel giggled. The sunlight flowing through the open blinds was painful. Nel watched in amusement as he tried to smother his eyes. "You know you have to get up~." She sang.

"Ugg. I know, but a guy can hope right?" Then he realized he had been out a full day. "What!? Well, no use worrying over the past." He groaned as he sat up. He looked around and saw, to his annoyance, a sleeping Starrk. "Why does he get to sleep?" He asked no one in particular. It was at this point he finally noticed that Nell was sitting on him – and on his lap, too! "Um... Nel, why are you on my lap?" He asked cautiously.

"Because I want to be. Don't you like it?" She asked softly with little puppy dog eyes. She leaned in to his ear and whispered, "I can _get off_ if you want." Ichigo went totally red at the innuendo.

"No, I like it Nel, really." He only half lied. Okay, to be honest it was more like 1 percent lie, 99 percent truth. He laughed nervously. "Now because I'm sure Soul Society will be attacking us again soon, why don't we enjoy the peace while it lasts. What do you want to do today Nel?"

"Hmm," she hummed. "How about we go to the park with that one pond?"

"Nel, every park in this city has a pond." Ichigo sighed.

"Exactly! Let's just go to the first one we come across!" Ichigo deadpanned, then chuckled. Nel really was amusing, and he could never deny the excited look in her eyes. So after Ichigo got himself to look like something moderately presentable to go out in public, they started walking down the street.

It didn't take long before one of Karakura's whopping 5 parks came into view. It was the biggest one in town, about one and a half square miles. The second Nel saw it, she squealed in happiness. It was positively adorable. She grabbed Ichigo's arm and almost dragged him to the gates, she went so fast.

"Whoa, slow down!"

Nel quickly replied. "Not a chance!" Giggled, and sped up. When they finally went through the gate, Nel looked around. She spotted what she wanted and made a beeline for the paddleboats. "Ooh! That looks fun!"

When they got there they went up to the reception desk (for lack of a better term), and bought a ticket. Then Nel bounced to the nearest boat with eyes shining with excitement. They stepped into the boat and Ichigo pushed off the dock. They went out to the middle of the lake, and Nel snuggled up to his shoulder. They sat there like that for at least an hour just enjoying each other's company.

In Soul Society, Central 46 chambers:

"The former Substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki is too powerful. We may have to use _him_." One member said.

"Are you insane? Let me remind you what happened last time he was free. Our predecessors were all slaughtered!" Exclaimed a second.

"And, only the substitute could beat him the first time. How would we contain him again?" A third contributed.

"Kurosaki is a bigger threat than _he_ could ever be right now. All in favor of using _him_ raise your hands." A vast majority raised their hands. It was settled. They would make one more attempt at capturing and executing Kurosaki. If they failed again, they would release Aizen.

Back in the human world with Ichigo and Nel:

After another hour or two of paddling and chatting, Nel and Ichigo returned to shore. "That was fun! You had fun too, right Itsygo?" She asked with puppy dog eyes.

"Of course I did! Who wouldn't?" He smiled at her as she snuggled up into the crook of his arm. She had gotten more touchy lately. Ichigo didn't mind it, but he was too dense to realize why. He was enjoying the feeling too much to feel Rukia Kuchiki's Spiritual Pressure 500 feet behind him. In his defense, she was suppressing it well. He did not fail to notice the immense mass of Reiatsu that appeared in the park 1 mile away. He also felt them put up the pillars that would transfer the park into Soul Society so that the human world would not be harmed. Good.

Nel sensed it too. She immediately tensed up, but grinned even wider. "Looks like it's time to show off the benefits of my special training." She gave Ichigo a long kiss on the lips. "Wish me luck."

He just smiled. The pressure he could feel pressure equal to about 5 captains. If Nel was this confident, those captains were in for a surprise.

When they got to the group of captains, he saw they had about 300 squad eleven members behind them. Curiously – but intelligently – the captain of squad eleven was not present. He would prolong the fight, and these captains wanted it over as fast as possible. Ichigo stuck his hands in his pockets and smiled. Then he released enough spiritual pressure to knock anyone below seated officer level out cold. Only a few squad members remained standing with difficulty. He exerted a little more and they were crushed to the ground. Now Nel could fight the captains without difficulty.

Starrk appeared beside Ichigo. "I didn't want to miss the show." Starrk answered Ichigo's questioning look. Satisfied, Ichigo looked back to Nel, standing alone, in front of five captains. And she was standing without any struggle.

The captains' eyes widened in what was close to fear. The captains present were Soifon – with a look of disgust on her face – Toshiro, Byakuya, Komamura, and Kensei. "Sorry Ichigo, Central 46 ordered this." Kensei said with sadness in his eyes.

Nel merely smiled in the face of what would be anyone but her or Ichigo's – or of course Aizen's – death. Then she said something that left everyone present in shock. As she held her Zanpakuto out horizontally, she whispered with closed eyes, "'Declare.' Gamuza." Then, with Gamuza at her side, all watched with wide eyes the power of a goddess as she proclaimed, " _Resurrección: Segunda Etapa_. " everyone gasped. Only Ichigo knew the full power of the second stage, but the captains knew the power of the first very well.

Pink Reiatsu exploded around her, washing the area in its glow. The captains, previously in the air, were crushed to the ground. There was Pressure pushing down all around them, yet they couldn't feel a thing coming from the goddess in front of them. She had her human upper half, but instead of a Centaur's lower half, she had what appeared to be a black mare's front haunches; just the front haunches. The most striking feature of her new appearance, however, was the shining crystalline armor covering the majority of her body. What's more, it was skin tight. Starrk whistled.

"I was once the third espada. Stronger than Ulquiorra, the fourth, who hid his power from Aizen himself, for fear of being deemed 'too powerful.' You will fall before me." She looked up darkly. It was at this point that the captains realized why they couldn't feel her power. She was on a level beyond Aizen's. Ichigo merely smiled. Then she appeared behind Komamura. " _Midarana Sutoraiki_." Komamura fell to his knees. "My aspect of death is Lust. And currently, I lust to protect Ichigo. It is not possible for you to defeat me."

Byakuya scoffed. "Do not be so arrogant. Bankai." He dropped his sword into the ground. Several spectral blades rose up in two rows behind him, then they all scattered into thousands, no, hundreds of thousands of flakes of metal. As they flew into the air, they caught the light and appeared to be cherry blossoms floating in the wind. "Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."

Nel looked blankly at him. She raised her arm back, Gamuza in hand. " _Lanzador Verde_." She threw the 'Green Lance' straight at Byakuya's chest. He swept his hands up, and the 'Flower petals' flew up in a wall to guard him. As Gamuza reached the wall it had already begun spinning. Gamuza crashed into the beautiful wall of pseudo cherry blossoms and almost immediately broke through. Byakuya widened his eyes just before Gamuza drilled through his shoulder. "I missed." Nel said without emotion. She may have missed, but without medical Kido, he wasn't fighting anymore.

It was at this point the other Captains decided to take action. Toshiro flash stepped behind Nel. "Bankai. Daiguren Hyorinmaru." Ice engulfed him and he emerged in dragon form.

Kensei flash stepped in front of her. "Sorry, I don't want to fight you or Ichigo, but I have no choice in the matter. Bankai. Tekken Tachikaze." Wind erupted around him, and when the wind dispersed, he had brass knuckles instead of the single combat knife. He also had his hollow mask on. " **I'm sorry Ichigo. I cannot afford to hold back.** "

With that, Kensei threw a devastating punch at Nel, while Toshiro swung his sword. Just as Nel moved to catch Kensei's knuckle, and block Toshiro's sword, Soifon appeared above her sliding her hand along her Zanpakuto. "'Sting all enemies to death!' Suzumebachi!" Soifon proceded to lunge at Nel's neck. Nel twisted around, grabbed Kensei's knuckles – and withstood the massive force that came with it – and swung him into Toshiro. Next, she flared her Reiatsu, and Soifon was crushed to the ground.

All the captains got up – including Komamura and Byakuya. They all dashed at her. Pink Reiatsu exploded around her. "I'm sorry. _Danza de la Muerte Verde_." And with that simple statement, she began her deadly jade dance. In a blur of green she appeared and disappeared in instants. She was moving so fast that she left after images in several places. Every second she was in motion you could hear 3 slices from each captain (that's fifteen slices a second in total), and splashes of blood flew through the air. The 'Dance' lasted 10 seconds. After 5 seconds, all captains were on their knees. By the end of the dance, every captain was on the ground, bloodied and beaten. They couldn't even move, for the dance had drained all of their Reiatsu. "I spared your lives only because Ichigo wanted me to. Had he not been here, you would all be dead." She turned and walked back to Ichigo.

Ichigo looked over to the mess of captains. "Kensei. Please, tell them to stop attacking us. The next group might not be so lucky." He looked sadly at Kensei, then turned and began his walk back home as Nel reverted to her normal form, and the spiritual park went back to normal, taking the captains with it. Ichigo leaned over to Nel until his lips brushed her ear. "You are gorgeous."

Nel shivered. "Thanks Ichi!" She smiled widely and kissed him. They continued to walk in the direction of home, but just before they left the park, they heard a voice.

"Ichigo! Stop!" Rukia appeared in front of them as the group stopped. "What are you doing? This isn't you!" She was on the verge of tears.

"Rukia, I don't know what you're talking about. They are trying to execute me. Do you expect me to go quietly to my death?" He looked at her like she was crazy.

She was quiet for a minute. Then it appeared she made up her mind about something. She looked at him and said, "I can't allow you to continue on like this. I must stop you." She looked down and closed her eyes. Then she said something that was rather surprising. "Bankai," she began. "Hakka no Togame." A pillar of white light flew into the air. When the light dispersed, Rukia had the appearance of a princess. An Ice flower adorned her head, and several ribbons looped behind her back, giving her the appearance of a butterfly. In one word, it was Beautiful. The most beautiful Bankai Soul Society had ever seen. All around her was a crystalline icey world. Everything was coated in a fine layer of ice as cold as liquid nitrogen.

In the middle of this wonderland stood Ichigo Kurosaki. The raw primal energy erupting from his body had shattered the ice that had covered it a moment before. Had Nel not been there, he may not have been so angry. But she was in a block of ice. He release spiritual pressure in that direction until it shattered. Nel simply stretched. "Rukia, if it was only me, I wouldn't be mad. But you could have hurt Nel, and that is unforgivable. Zangetsu." A reishi sword formed in his hand. He drew his arm back and threw the sword. It made contact with her stomach and exploded immediately. "Though you're bankai is impressive, it is no match for my power. If you were not my friend, you would be dead. Don't try this again, or I might stop considering you my friend." He turned and walked away. Rukia had managed to withstand most of the blow and was looking after him, crying.

He made his way home slowly. If even Rukia was trying to bring him in, they must really think of him as a threat. He wasn't even doing anything wrong! Why did Soul Society have to decide who lived and died based on their level of power? Why couldn't they base it on their actions? They hate hollows with a passion, though some arrancar are more human than shinigami!

People apparently always want to have control. So be it. If they attack him one more time, he will go to Soul Society himself and talk to the head captain. He was tired of him using the captains as pawns; they were people too.

They had one more strike, then he would bring the fight to them. He was getting very frustrated. They finally got back to his house, and Ichigo looked to Nel. "Stand aside for a second." She moved over just in time for Ichigo's father to come flying out the door, no warning at all. Unfortunately for him, Ichigo was in a bad mood. He clotheslined his father and savagely kicked him back into the house. Karin stopped just short of getting hit.

Ichigo stormed up the stairs to his room, Nel close behind. She could _feel_ how upset he was. Then she had an idea. "Oh, Ichi~!" She laid a hand on his shoulder.

He turned around and was immediately assaulted by Nel's face. Needless to say, his mood improved immensely in under 3 seconds. Nel slowly pushed him over to the bed until he fell back onto it. Suddenly, a large crash was heard on the other side of the door, accompanied by Karin's annoyed voice. "Respect his privacy, you damn goat! He's a seventeen year old boy! He doesn't need or want your damn spying every second he's in his room! God knows I don't..." She snorted in annoyance. "Couldn't you tell he was in a bad mood? Let him enjoy his time with his gorgeous girlfriend. Idiot."

"One second, Nel." He got up and went to the door. He opened it just as Karin walked around the corner out of sight. His father was in a daze against the wall. Ichigo smiled to himself. _Thanks Karin. You really care, no matter how much you deny it._ He stared at his father. As Isshin snapped out of his daze, he looked up in fear. Ichigo grabbed him by the hair and dragged him to the master bedroom. He threw him in, and proceeded to close and block the door with several heavy objects. Even with his father's superhuman strength, he wouldn't get out of there for a while.

He walked back into his room, making sure to close and lock the door behind him. He grinned at Nel. "Now where were we?"

 **Damn parents, always getting in the way! Keep up the R &R! Though I greatly enjoy just writing, the Reviews make me feel AMAZING! Seriously, it's like crack (Jk). But all jokes aside, I really appreciate it. I hope I can continue to please all of my readers! Until next time.**

 **-Spawn of the Core**


	6. Chapter 6

**Translations:**

Ōbushīrudo – orb shield

Kyohi kabe – rejecting wall

Kakusareta shīrudo – hidden wall.

Lanzador Verde – Spanish: green lancer. Japanese: Jade lance.

Salvaje Verde Atravesar - Savage Jade Pierce.

Midarana sutoraiki – Lustful Strike

Danza de la Muerte Verde – Jade Dance of Death

Lanza del Relámpago - Lance of lightning

 **"Hollow speech"**

 _thoughts_

"Normal speech"

 **For those of you that are confused on when this takes place, don't feel bad. I'm confused as well. PLEASE ignore the plot holes! Lol. Anyway, I got a review that kinda urks me. I told you that I accepted constructive criticism, but calling me a retard is not that. If you have a problem with my story, let me know nicely, like someone else did when they thought Nel was too strong too fast. That was nice and constructive, not mean and pointless. If you don't like the story, don't read it, it's common sense. Also, something I'm not mad about, is that someone posted a comment in Spanish, but I only speak English. All I got from it was 'Manga' once or twice, and maybe a 'Please.' If you can help it, review in English. I really want to know what my readers think, so I would appreciate it. Also, WE ARE NOW OVER 100 FOLLOWERS! Thank you for all the love I've been getting, and I hope you enjoy this chapter too. Now that my ranting is over, enjoy.**

"GOOD MORNING ICHIGOOO— Oh. Oh! OH, OH, OH, OH!" Isshin stopped as he broke down Ichigo's locked door and saw Nel on top of his son. Isshin couldn't tell if they had clothes on because of the blanket covering them, but he suspected they did. Damn Ichigo and his prudish ways. Looks like grandkids would have to wait. He did his best to sneak out the door just as Ichigo began to open his eyes.

"Ah! Oh. Good morning, Nel." He said nervously, Nel giggled.

"Good morning Ichi~," she sang. "How did you _sleep_?" She giggled again.

"I didn't," he said with a happy smile on his face. Nel proceeded to smother his face with hers, and that was the last thing Isshin saw before a soccer ball nailed him in the face. As soon as he turned to see where it came from, Karin's backpack broke his nose.

" _What did I say last night?"_ Karin asked in a terrifying whisper. " _Buzz_ OFF!" Karin kicked him down the stairs, grabbing her soccer ball on the way.

She walked past Isshin dazed against the wall with a broken nose right out the front door. Just as she closed the door, Ichigo walked down the stairs with Nel draped over him. "Did we _have_ to get up?" Nel whined.

"We have to go to school today. I've missed enough already. I'll probably get a detention as it is." He walked out the door with Nel still hugging him, and began their walk to school. About halfway there he felt the presence of a few Stealth Force members watching him. He wasn't worried though. They couldn't pierce his Reiatsu hardened skin or Nel's Hierro, and they wouldn't try anything that would be lethal to other students.

They made it to school without any interference, but not without annoyance. "ICHIGOOOOOOOOO–" Keigo was immediately clotheslined as Ichigo sidestepped his charge. "Ichigo, why are you so mean to– who is this?" He scrambled over to Nel and offered his hand. "Keigo Asano, at your service." He knelt. "Wait... arms draped around him, head on his shoulder... ICHIGO! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU GOT A HOT GIRLFRIEND?" He yell-asked hysterically.

"THIS IS EXACTLY WHY!" He yelled right back. He swatted Keigo's hand away before he could touch Nel. "Maybe if you weren't such a perv you could get one." He said tiredly. His lack of sleep was catching up with him. Mondays sucked.

"Okay class, get seated." Miss Ochi walked in right after Ichigo and Nel. "And who are you?" She asked Nel after she realized there was a new student. (A/N: **Because I forgot to put in parts where they got gigai's, just pretend everything is fine. Thanks.** )

"Um... Transfer student from Turkey!" Yeah. Nice quick thinking, Ichigo. He laughed nervously. "She lost her transfer papers on the way here. Her name is Neliel." He (the writer) had no idea how to pronounce her last name.

"Turkey. Whatever, let's just get to class... after the _Turk_ gets to her seat." (A/N: **Fun fact, Neliel is a Turkish name that means 'Strong willed, Beautiful, Life changing.' All apt descriptors.** ) Nel climbed off of Ichigo and sat in the seat next to him that was always conveniently open. It's almost like people write this stuff to be optimal for any more people to come into his life. And for some reason, no matter how old they are, join him at school. Anyways.

Miss Ochi droned through class, 'teaching' whatever dumb topic they were supposed to be on. Ichigo wasn't paying any attention, just gazing at Nel who, for some reason, seemed enthralled by the lesson. At one point she looked over and blushed when she saw him staring. He just smiled.

"Ichigo... Ichigo...? ICHIGO!" Miss Ochi's voice pierced through his trance. "Can you _please_ tell me what I've been talking about for the last half hour?"

"No." He said simply. Everybody laughed. Keigo fell out of his chair. Idiot.

"See me after class." She ordered, then continued the lesson after something resembling an 'okay' from Ichigo before he went back to looking at Nel.

So, when class finally ended, Ichigo gave Nel a kiss on the cheek before walking up to miss Ochi. "What's up, teach?" He asked casually.

"'What is up,' Ichigo, is the several detentions for truancy and lack of respect you have to serve." She gave him a deadpan look. Ichigo laughed nervously. "Do you think this is funny? It was going to be one hour, but now it's two. Every day, for two weeks. Now go sit down again."

"But it's time for lunch."

"Eat here." She ordered. Ichigo sighed in defeat and sat down after pulling out his lunch and started to eat. He finished just as students were filing back in.

Nel walked up and gave him a quick peck before sitting back down. Almost every guy that saw looked at him with unimaginable venom, and every girl in envy. And so, class dragged on.

This time Ichigo pretended to pay attention, but the teachers almost angry glances every once and awhile told him she didn't believe it for a second. By the time class was over, he was half asleep, and had given up pretending.

Miss Ochi walked up to him as everyone else but Nel left. "I'll be right back. Stay here." She turned to Nel. "Go home." Then she walked out of the room to go wherever she had to go.

"What's going on Ichi? Isn't it time to go home?" Nel asked innocently.

"I have a detention, Nel. That means I have to wait an extra hour to go home." He sighed. "You can still go home, though."

Nel looked at him, then walked over and sat on his lap. "But I hate being away from you Itsy..." She trailed off. "I'll stay with you in detention." She snuggled up close to him.

"Thanks, Nel." He smiled at her, then pulled her in for a quick kiss. Or so he thought. The second he tried to pull away, she pulled him closer with three times the strength.

It was at this moment that miss Ochi walked back in the room, and sighed. "Separate... Ichigo. New Girl. Separate now!" But her orders fell on deaf ears. They were in their own world. _Why can't my boyfriend kiss me like that?_ She thought.

She gave up on trying and waited for them to stop. They kept at it for a solid 10 minutes. It was almost like they weren't totally human. After they were done they sat there just _looking_ at each other. This was really irritating to miss Ochi. Her boyfriend never looked at her like that. That went on for at least 40 minutes. But then something strange happened. About five minutes before detention was over, both their eyes widened. They proceeded to dash out without a word. "Whatever... I have papers to grade anyway." She sighed and got out her work.

Nel and Ichigo fell out of their trances when a crushing spiritual pressure appeared in the mountains a few miles out. They immediately dashed out of the room and towards it.

"Wait... is that... no! He's dead! No..." Ichigo exclaimed in disbelief. They sonido'd the rest of the way to the mountains to reveal his worst nightmare. There stood Ulquiorra in his second stage resurrection. Behind him were several arrancar, including Grimmjow, Harribel, Apacci, Mila Rose, Sung-sun, and several others he didn't know the names of.

There stood the aspect of nothingness, staring at him with just that in his expression. "Hello, Ichigo Kurosaki. I hear you defeated Aizen. I would like to know how you did." He continued to stare at Ichigo.

"No." Ichigo said simply. He wouldn't lose his powers again, this time over someone here just to fight him. He had to admit though, he was surprised. He didn't think Ulquiorra was the fighting type. More the 'stare in contempt' type.

It was just a moment after he finished saying 'no' that a green-black Cero hit him straight in the chest. He was immediately pushed back into a mountain, creating an Ichigo shaped imprint in the rock. He groaned as he got up, his shirt destroyed. "Damnit! I liked that shirt!" He raised his hand over his face and pulled on his mask. He pulled Zangetsu from his hip (Because he is now always in Bankai, he hangs his thin Zangetsu on his hip). " **Let's make it snappy. I have a gorgeous girlfriend to hang out with,** " he said in his hollowfied voice. He heard Nel giggle and smiled.

Ulquiorra didn't give Ichigo long to enjoy her laugh. He almost immediately appeared behind Ichigo with his enhanced sonido, and Ichigo barely had enough time to release his crushing spiritual pressure to slow him down. Just before another Cero was fired point blank to the back of his head, he stepped to the side and raised his Zanpakuto to block. Had it been any other Zanpakuto, it would have disintegrated on impact. The Cero hit a few of the Arrancar and they almost immediately disappeared from existence. The Cero finally stopped after tearing through a few mountains. Ulquiorra looked on in apathy.

Ichigo countered by coating his blade in black getsuga, and swinging with full force at Ulquiorra's neck. He was blocked by his opponents forearm, though not without damage. Ulquiorra's arm was cut almost to the bone. Though he used his high speed regeneration to repair it, he was rather surprised at the impact, while Ichigo was surprised at the lack thereof. Ichigo jumped back, raising his blade. " **Getsuga Tensho!** " He yelled as he swung his sword in an arc.

"Cero." Ulquiorra said as he raised his hand and fired a beam of energy from it. The arc of red-black energy cut through the majority of the green-black beam until they cancelled each other out. "I see. So you've improved. So have I. Gran Rey Cero." He said calmly as a beam ten times as large and powerful as the original Cero flew at Ichigo.

" **Gran Rey Cero** " Ichigo said as he fired off his own attack. Ulquiorra's eyes widened as Ichigo's Cero broke through his own. He raised both his hands just in time to be pushed back into a mountain, breaking his back and arms. Once again, his high speed regeneration saved him from what would have been the final blow as he rolled to the side to avoid a getsuga blast courtesy of Zangetsu.

Ulquiorra spread his arms. "Lanza del Relámpago." He said as a blue lance formed horizontally in between his arms. He wrapped one hand around it and raised it over his shoulder, then threw it at Ichigo. Ichigo knew the destructive power of this attack. It could create craters the size of Great Britain. Though this particular attack didn't have _that_ much power, it would still hurt. A lot. And, he couldn't risk it reaching Karakura town.

He threw up his arms and proclaimed, " **Kyohi kabe.** " A wall of pitch black Reishi flew up with tendrils of red energy flowing from it. As the lance approached, the dark red tendrils flew out and wrapped around it, and blue energy could be seen flowing down the tendrils into the shield. Just as the spear reached the shield, the spear was particles thick, yet the explosion blew a crater the size of a classroom. The shockwave alone shattered some of the closest mountains. As Ichigo's reishi shield dissipated he looked at Ulquiorra with wide eyes. " **You got stronger as well**." He said softly in his distorted voice. Ulquiorra's Reiatsu was almost as dense as his own. Ichigo, however, was only using 5 percent of his power. He slowly lifted the controls he had on his power, until everyone but Nel and Ulquiorra was on their hands and knees, if not flat on the ground.

"That is a strange ability, Ichigo Kurosaki. I see that you have increased your spiritual pressure as well," he said calmly. He tried to sonido behind Ichigo, but the closer he got, the slower, and was slowed to running speed as he reached Ichigo. Ichigo swung a Getsuga charged Zangetsu at his chest. Ulquiorra had just enough time for a panicked "Cero," to knock the arc slightly off its course to sever both his lungs, and punctured his stomach instead. Though this was significantly damaging, it wasn't fatal.

" **You're even faster than before. If you hadn't increased your strength this much, you'd be on the ground with severed lungs.** " Ichigo coated his blade with black getsuga, then added a red-black Cero as well. Swinging it in a diagonal arc in Ulquiorra's direction, he shouted, " **Getsuga Cero Tensho.** " A Moon Fang Hollow Cannon that Pierces the Heavens was discharged from his blade and hit Ulquiorra, obliterating almost all his vital organs.

"I see. Now I know for sure you defeated Aizen; not even he could withstand this much power. Congratulations. I can now see why the former third Espada fell for you so easily. But one word of advice... beware... the... Soul—." He never finished. His once again disintegrating form lost the ability to speak and he faded. Just before the last fragment disappeared, Ichigo cut it with Zangetsu. There was a blinding white light, and a hell butterfly appeared. Ichigo smiled in contentment and relief as he saw it fly into the air, knowing that _he_ had Purified Ulquiorra, and his sin-free soul would live peacefully in Soul Society. Just because its governing body was attempting to execute him didn't mean it was a bad place.

It was at that point Ichigo looked around and saw the arrancar, as well as several mountains, had been crushed to the earth. He re-sealed his spiritual pressure and the pressure on the surrounding area was lifted. He reached his hand up to his face, took off the mask, and dropped it as it disappeared into red-black reishi that was absorbed into the environment. As he looked around, he saw several arrancar with broken limbs, but the majority were getting up. He searched the crowd for a minute and finally saw Grimmjow. They made eye contact and the espada limped over to Ichigo. Though not broken, one leg was damaged, and Grimmjow didn't have the high speed regeneration of Ulquiorra.

"Hey. Are you going to kill us too? We don't have the strength to fight, or open garganta. So either kill us or get lost." Grimmjow said irritably.

Ichigo looked at him in curiosity. "Do you know what Ulquiorra was going to tell me to beware of?" Grimmjow's eyes widened.

"Only Ulquiorra knew their name. It's said that if you speak it, your soul is pulled into another world, beyond Hueco Mundo or Soul Society. Ulquiorra only knew it because his Aspect of Nothingness allowed him to ignore that effect, but he never told us because we might have spoken it on accident. All I know is that it started with Soul." He said. "We were fleeing from them for fear of an attack, and ended up here. Ulquiorra knew you would fight him, so he wasted no time in using Segunda Etapa. Now, are you going to kill us or not?"

"Why would I kill you?" Ichigo was confused. Only Ulquiorra attacked him, and the arrancar were just seeking refuge. "No. Come with me." Said Ichigo, and turned around, waving for Nel to come to his side. He put his arm around her as she walked, hearing Grimmjow grumble something about getting a room. He didn't mind a long walk with his girlfriend, but the arrancar were getting restless, so he decided to move as fast as the others could, which in their states, were not-quite sonido speeds. They made it to his house in a little under half an hour. "Stand aside, guys." He advised, turning to his followers. Just as they stepped aside a blur of a white lab coat and black hair flew past them. They all turned to look at them.

"Um... why are there 20 arrancar here?" Isshin asked, _almost_ speechless.

Ichigo laughed nervously. "They kinda need a place to stay." He told his father.

Isshin grinned. "YAY! More friends! They can stay in the training ground below the house."

"Okay," Ichigo said as he began walking inside. "WAIT! Since when was there a training ground below the house?"

"Oh, I put it in a while ago. It's below the basement." Isshin grinned.

They got all his guests downstairs to the training room, and all the while Ichigo was thinking ' _I HATE YOU_ ' at his father and giving him a death stare.

 **Sorry for the wait, but I was feeling super lazy over spring break so… yeah. sorry. I bet you thought it was Aizen coming out of the mountains didn't you! Well I did too until I decided that that would come a little later. Maybe next chapter, maybe after that. I also gave myself a nice way to continue the story when Ulquiorra told him to beware of something. By the way, there will NOT be a harem. Strictly IchiNel. I love them. Thank you for the R &Rs, and I hope I can continue to please.** **Once again, thank you to my beta for improving my writing :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Translations:**

Ōbushīrudo – orb shield

Kyohi kabe – rejecting wall

Kakusareta shīrudo – hidden wall.

Lanzador Verde – Spanish: green lancer. Japanese: Jade lance.

Salvaje Verde Atravesar - Savage Jade Pierce.

Midarana sutoraiki – Lustful Strike

Danza de la Muerte Verde – Jade Dance of Death

Lanza del Relámpago - Lance of lightning

Pesuto Kiba – Plague Fang

 **Hey there friends! Before I start, I would like to respond to a comment. Regarding lemons, considering I am writing this almost exclusively at school, it is unlikely I will write one. If I am feeling incredibly nice, I might put one in in the last chapter, but I still don't know when that will be. Hope I haven't disappointed anyone** _ **too**_ **much... hehe... please don't hate me. Anyway! On to the story!**

 **"Hollow speech"**

" _Thoughts"_

"Normal speech"

They stood in a massive cavern almost identical to the one beneath Kisuke's shop. As Ichigo looked around, Grimmjow and Halibel went up to a mountain of a rock. Halibel drew her sword. "Cascada," she said swinging it downwards, causing a massive wave of water to fly from it. At the same time,Grimmjow shot a Cero at the mass of earth. The gigantic boulder erupted into millions of pebbles that flew over the rest of the group's heads. The arrancar all grabbed the sleeping bags covering Isshin and set them down in the newly vacant space.

"Why would I expect anything different from them?" Ichigo muttered grumpily.

Nel giggled. "Because it's easy to forget they're hollows. You don't think of me as a hollow, do you?" She looked at him with huge shining eyes.

"Of course not, but you're different. You don't enjoy violence; you hate it. Before I knew about arrancar, I thought all hollows were just violent monsters. But when I met you and other arrancar, I found out that not all hollows were evil. Though they usually still enjoyed fighting, and often killing, they weren't just animals that were constantly looking for food. They had goals and functionality above simple survival instincts." He paused, but he wasn't finished. "Then, when I met you, I truly realized that hollows were not evil creatures in need of destruction as I had been taught. You and your 'brothers' were kinder and gentler souls than most humans. The more I spent time with you, the more I realized that hollows had feelings beyond hate, hunger, fear, and suffering. I could see joy, sadness, remorse, and even love between you. You were not creatures to be purged, you were souls to protect and cherish, just like all the other human souls."

This time, the shine in Nel's eyes were actual tears, not fake ones. "Thank you, Ichigo. That's why I love you. You're a better person than any Saint I could name. Then again, I only know a few." She whispered with a giggle that sent shivers down Ichigo's spine. After that they just stood there in silence, watching all the arrancar bicker over who got to sleep where.

Isshin; however, was getting to work. He was on his way to Kisuke's but, of course, he had built a connection between the two training grounds when the second was constructed, and he was walking through it now. ( **A/N: I didn't forget this time!** ) He began to climb the ladder, muttering about how irritating it was that the author didn't write in Kisuke's bankai yet, and the manga being too slow updating. He opened the trap door and was immediately greeted by a certain black cat's claws across his face.

"Oh no! Are you okay Isshin?" The cat said in mock concern. It broke out laughing a second later. "That's for raising a prude!"

"Nice to see you too, Yoruichi," Isshin said dryly. "Where is Kisuke?"

"In the other room. I'll go get dressed." The cat walked off as Isshin strolled to the next room. He was surprised to see several humanoid figures on a long table.

"Ah hello! I assume you're here for the Gigai. Take them and have the arrancar enter them normally. I've modified them so they adapt to the souls form almost instantly, rather than needing to measure the soul first." He looked very proud of himself. Isshin, without a word picked up a large pole and draped the artificial bodies over it. He hoisted the pole up onto his shoulders and began the trek back to his house.

…

Ichigo reluctantly pulled his arm from around Nel's shoulders as a fight broke out among the arrancar. He slowly got up and walked over. "What's the problem?" He said tiredly. Despite how it may have seemed, the fight he had just been put through had taken its toll on him. Though he could still easily fight off several captains, if an enemy any more powerful than the head captain attacked him, he might really be in trouble.

Grimmjow spoke up. "Halibel's fraccion want to sleep next to her, and prince charming over there," he pointed to an arrancar with a crown like mask, "insists that he should get to."

"I'm assuming this would normally be solved with violence?" Ichigo asked. He looked at Halibel as she nodded. He sighed. "Who would you like to sleep near?" Halibel looked surprised. She hadn't been asked her opinion before. They always just fought over her.

She quickly reverted her face to the ever-impassive norm. "Fraccion." She answered shortly. She proceeded to jump up onto one of the boulders and looked down on the rest of the arrancar similar to the way a queen would look on her subjects.

Ichigo went back to Nel for another few hours before Isshin arrived back with the Gigai. He looked ragged and was panting dramatically. "Drama Queen." Ichigo muttered as he walked up to him.

"You're so mean to your poor father!" He fake-sobbed. "I got the Gigai for the arrancar. Twenty-two. One for each." He set the pole down. The majority of the arrancar gathered around them curiously, but the stronger, more sensitive arrancar hung back. The four or five that did were looking at Isshin cautiously.

As the arrancar figured out what these pseudo bodies were for, they began to merge into them. At first it was very uncomfortable, but the Gigai slowly got accustomed to them and took the appearance of their souls. As the arrancar got up and started testing their new bodies, Halibel looked up suddenly. She turned her head towards something, then disappeared for a moment. She reappeared next to Ichigo a few seconds later.

She was holding a stealth force member in front of her, one hand around his neck. Her grip was just loose enough to allow him to breathe, but tight enough to be painful. "I found this shinigami spying on us. I don't know if there are any more. This chamber blocks off most of the outside Reiatsu." She looked at the squad two member with hate in her eyes. "What should I do with him?"

Ichigo was faced with a tough choice. Though he could easily take on several captains on his own, and likely all of them with Nel by his side, he couldn't be sure the arrancar would be safe if they attacked. On the other hand, he really hated killing. "I—" he began.

The squad member cut him off as he ground out, "'Devastate,' Shūtai!" An explosion was unleashed from the squad member as his sword became a beast of fire, leaving only the hilt intact. Halibel was forced to drop him as the explosion pushed her back. "Pesuto Kiba." As he rose the hilt of the sword and brought it down vertically, the monster rose up into the air and reformed as an actual fang of what appeared to be gas. The 'fang' crashed down onto Halibel for only a second.

A moment later, Halibel said, "Cascada," as she swung her sword up in an arc and blew the gas away. Though she looked a little scratched up, she showed no sign of pain. The 'cascade' that flew out of her sword struck the squad two member in the chest and blew a hole in it. The squad member looked down and gave a soundless scream.

"That was my Tenth Seat you just killed." A voice from behind Ichigo said. He turned to see Soifon standing unsettlingly close behind him with her Suzumebachi release. Just as she lunged for Halibel, Ichigo raised Zangetsu lazily to block. The stinger glanced off the thin sword and a sharp 'ding' resounded through the chamber.

Every arrancar in the room looked up.

Every one of them left their Gigai and drew their swords just as one hundred Squad Two members flash stepped in. The massacre that ensued was so intense Nel looked away.

The fight lasted thirty seconds. There were 101 casualties. Every single squad member that appeared was either dead or incapacitated. One of the arrancar had lost a hand on a sloppy dodge, but Kisuke could fix that. Soifon looked on in shock at what remained of her squad. "I see. I was hoping my unsanctioned attack would stop you before they had to release _him_ , but I was mistaken and lost three seated officers in the process. Have fun with the enemy an army couldn't destroy." She said darkly as she opened a Senkaimon and returned to Soul Society.

Ichigo's heart began pounding. He didn't want to believe what she said, but he knew it was true. The man that still occasionally haunted his dreams was coming to get him like a literal bogeyman.

"Nel. Let's get to training. Your old boss is coming to get us." Ichigo said with a frown. Nel's expression darkened as well. They walked off and after a moment everyone in the training chamber was feeling moderate pressure in the air. They weren't going all out, but they were serious.

"Come," Halibel said, "This added pressure will help build up our own power. Now get to training, or Aizen will devastate us."

…

"Bring the prisoner." One council member said.

A man sitting in a chair with many binding kido on him was brought out into the middle of the room. "Hello, puppets." He said in his calm and ever smooth voice. His remark was met by silence. After a few seconds, another member spoke.

"Are you aware of your mission?"

Aizen laughed. "If you could call it that. I'm aware of what you want me to do." He smiled that deceptively kind smile.

"You _must_ kill the substitute soul reaper. He is a danger to Soul Society."

At this Aizen almost died laughing. "The only soul with a simpler mind than him are you puppets. You are complete idiots if you think that he would ever turn against you without provocation. He exists solely to protect those close to him, and he has too many friends here to even think of harming it. Though it would be interesting to see how much my project has grown... I'll do it, but I can guarantee you, if he is anything like he was in our first fight... I don't stand a chance." Aizen grinned at that little bluff. He couldn't wait to talk to that incredible specimen.

"Release his bonds."

The limiting kido was released and he got up. It felt good to stretch his legs. He strolled out and began a walk to the Senkaimon.

…

It had been a few days at this point, and everyone had worked up a serious sweat on each. Every arrancar had now become equal to a lieutenant or greater, and Ichigo and Nel had learned the ins and outs of fighting together. They learned each other's' strengths and weaknesses for the first time, and mastered playing off the other. Somehow, Ichigo knew Aizen would be even more powerful than the last time they fought.

The longer there was calm, the bigger Ichigo felt the storm would be. It was unsettling. He knew what would happen if he was in town when he was attacked. Aizen didn't care about innocents before, and Ichigo wouldn't count on him valuing lives now.

He gathered everyone together. "Nel and I are moving out into the mountains to wait for the attack. If you come along, _stay out of sight_. I don't want any of you getting hurt again by that man... if you can call him that." Ichigo grimaced. "Let's go."

They started walking to the mountains. Ichigo left his body with a few arrancar a couple miles away from where they would wait for Aizen.

Just hours after they arrived a Senkaimon was opened, accompanied by a crushing spiritual pressure. One so great, Ichigo had trouble breathing until he released some of his own, strengthening Nel in turn. Once they were breathing easily again, they both drew their Zanpakuto. Ichigo pulled on his mask.

Nel wasted no time in releasing and immense amount of Reiatsu. Holding her sword horizontally in front of her, she spoke, "'Declare.' Gamuza." Then, swiping her sword to the side, finished with, "Resurreccion: Segunda Etapa." She then took on her goddess like form, staring knives at the monster calmly walking out into the material world.

"Long time no see, Ichigo." Aizen said with a small smile. "Let's see how much you've grown, shall we?"

 **Sorry that took so long, friends. Once again, thank you for all of the feedback I've been getting, and I love you all. I have an idea of how I want the next chapter to go after the obvious fight about to go down happens, so maybe a week, week and a half before it's out. Thanks for the continuous feedback, and if you are thinking of leaving a review, DO NOT HESITATE! I** _ **love**_ **reading what you guys have to think, and I get probably a little too excited when I see a new comment. Thanks for all the love!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Translations:**

Ōbushīrudo – orb shield

Kyohi kabe – rejecting wall

Kakusareta shīrudo – hidden wall.

Lanzador Verde – Spanish: green lancer. Japanese: Jade lance.

Salvaje Verde Atravesar - Savage Jade Pierce.

Midarana sutoraiki – Lustful Strike

Danza de la Muerte Verde – Jade Dance of Death

Senju Koten Taiho – Thousand-hand Bright Heaven Culling-Spear.

Giman Suigetsu – deceptive water moon

Rippuru – ripple.

 **Okay... I'm a little nervous about this chapter because I made a huge build up, and I don't know if I will be able to do it justice. So bear with me, and I'll hope for the best. Also... MAJOR SPOILERS. If you are not caught up with the manga, either don't read until you are, or don't complain. Also, thank you for reminding me of his friends, because I totally forgot about them... oops. Finally, I took the liberty of creating a Bankai... hopefully you think its appropriate.**

"Long time no see, Ichigo." Aizen said with a small smile. "Let's see how much you've grown, shall we?"

Ichigo narrowed his now hollowfied eyes. " **Let's go,** " he said, raising his sword as Nel raised her lance.

Bringing her arm forward, she cried, "Lanzador Verde," letting loose her lance, now spiraling towards Aizen.

Just after Nel threw her lance, Ichigo swung his sword in an arc. " **Getsuga Tensho!** " The wave of energy discharged from Tensa Zangetsu and intercepted the spinning Gamuza, wrapping around it and increasing its offensive power exponentially.

In a horrible fit of deja vu, Aizen raised two fingers. Just as the lance reached him, he caught it in between them. Ichigo and Nel's eyes widened simultaneously.

"Now I see how you got your godly power," Aizen smiled, "Your Reiatsu is incredibly dense, but there is one problem. Though you now have the power of three essences never before combined, I have been bound within my own power. Had my own power not increased in density, I would have been crushed by it. I may no longer be the hogyoku's master, but the power I gained while wielding it remains. Though you and Neliel have become unbelievably stronger, you still cannot beat me."

Immediately after finishing the last syllable, he moved at a pace no one but a god or goddess could see and appeared behind Ichigo. A Zanpakuto materialized in Aizen's hand before bringing down on Ichigo.

Somehow, he raised Zangetsu just before he would have been cut. The resounding 'ding' it made bounced off the surrounding mountains. The mountains that were getting slowly crushed by the pressure on them. This was Ichigo's biggest disadvantage. Aizen knew he wouldn't raise his power to a level beyond one that would be safe for his friends, but Aizen didn't care about humans. To him, they were just playthings for his experiments. To be totally truthful, Ichigo was far stronger than Aizen, just not willing to use his power.

Ichigo jumped back from Aizen's sword as it swung at him again. Nel vaulted off his shoulders and lunged forward with Gamuza, which she had snatched up off the ground just moments before. "Midarana sutoraiki!" Once again, Aizen caught the lance between his fingers, though this time he was pushed back a couple feet. Nel jerked it out of his fingers and sonido'd behind him, swinging it like a bat and hitting him in the back of the neck with the blunt side, stunning him momentarily.

At the same time, Ichigo dashed forward swinging his sword. " **Getsuga,** " he began as he approached Aizen, pumping an insane amount of power into his attack. Ichigo reached Aizen, the stun from the strike from Nel giving him just enough time to press Tensa Zangetsu to Aizen's stomach. " **Tensho!** " He discharged a red-black mass of energy directly into Aizen's stomach.

Nel just barely escaped damage as Aizen flew back from the force of the blast. Then he uttered two words that would forever chill the blood of anyone who heard it. "Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu." Suddenly, the world became silent.

First, Ichigo saw Aizen cut Nel in two with his sword. Then, he saw Aizen appear in front of him. Ichigo widened his eyes. The man in front of him had taken one of the strongest attacks he had ever used at point blank range. And he was totally unscathed. Not even a fleck of dust was on his clothing. Ichigo watched in horror as Kyoka Suigetsu entered his heart.

Suddenly, sound returned. He looked around for several precious seconds for Aizen before he spotted him breathing heavily a distance away. Luckily, he hadn't managed to escape the explosion caused by his attack completely unscathed, leaving his form battered and ragged. Not only that, but Nel hadn't been cut in two; instead she was only unconscious. He did not, however, hallucinate the sword in his chest. He watched as Aizen walked up and slowly removed the sword from his chest.

Sound was once again fading. His eyes were closing, and the last thing he saw was a massive blur tackle Aizen and slam him into a mountain. He heard two things; however. First, was a familiar manic laughing, coming from the blur that had just flown over him.

The second was Kisuke Urahara saying, "Bankai: Kannonbiraki Benihime Aratame."

…

When he awoke, he heard the clashing of swords and felt Nel's soft skin on his neck. He opened his eyes and let out a shout. There was what appeared to be a very, very large woman above him. He jumped up out of Nel's gentle hold on him and away from what he now saw was a more statue-like woman. He looked around and saw Kisuke standing with a stupid grin on his face.

"You really need to stop holding back. A few hours ago I estimated the area where you would be fighting in and had Hachi create a Reiatsu barrier around it." He tossed Ichigo his sword. "Now beat him already. I didn't train you for years just to be a pushover."

"You only trained me for thirteen days!" He yelled back. He quickly ran back into the fray towards the – not so surprisingly – laughing Kenpachi Zaraki struggling to keep up with Aizen.

"THIS IS SO FUCKING FUN," He screamed in elation. "Kisuke, you weren't kidding when you said this would be worth the trouble," He laughed even more.

Ichigo pulled on his mask and joined the fight once again, this time with renewed vigor. Nel quickly joined him. This, of course, finally proved to be too much for even Kenpachi to withstand, and he backed up. Then Ichigo heard Yachiru's voice. "Ready Kenny?" she asked.

"This'll be so much fun," he said with a manic grin. He was then engulfed in yellow energy, which took the form of a skull around him. "Bankai!" he yelled, causing a powerful shockwave to expand outward, blowing everyone around him back a few feet. The being in front of Ichigo was on all fours, holding a beaten up and worn cleaver, with an animal appearance. In this form, he could move freely under this immense pressure – a testament to his incredible physical strength.

In the blink of an eye, Kenpachi was attacking Aizen once again... and Aizen was struggling. Then he jumped back and clapped his hands together. "Bakudo number 99: Bankin." A large black cube-like box immediately fell from the sky and landed on Kenpachi. As the barrier inevitably began to crack, he shouted, "Hadou number 91: Senju Koten Taiho!" An inane amount of swords composed purely of Reiatsu materialized around the slowly crumbling prison. Aizen snapped his fingers and the swords flew at the prison that had just shattered and dispersed into reishi. The shining swords stabbed into the body of the animal-like figure that was Kenpachi. He proceeded to stand, and one by one, destroy each of the swords protruding from his body.

Kenpachi quickly leapt at Aizen and resumed his onslaught, moving at an impossibly fast pace for a man his size. Slash after slash, he refused to relent. Though Aizen was seemingly effortlessly blocking every attack, each impact pushing him back only slightly. Had it been any other being, they would have been in a bloody heap at this point.

Aizen then began his counter attack. With something similar to a cross between sonido and flash step, he moved behind Kenpachi and attempted a direct slash to his back. Kenpachi somehow maneuvered around to block with such a force that he actually made Aizen stagger.

Ichigo saw his chance to strike and swung Tensa Zangetsu in a large arc. " **Getsuga Tensho!** "

Nel increased Ichigo's attack with her own. "Gran Rey Cero!" The two attacks merged once again in the way that no other two souls could manage. In that synchronized attack, they struck Aizen square in the back, launching him into a nearby mountain, reducing it to rubble.

Aizen's eyes burned as he stood up, pushing the rocks covering him aside. "I see you have had a great increase in strength as well, Neliel." Despite the rage filling his eyes, he had a calm smile on his face. He wasn't shaking with rage or physically affected in any other way by his anger. In fact, Aizen was standing completely and totally still. "I see I was right in choosing you to join my ranks. If Nnoitra's petty one sided quarrel with you had ended in his exile instead, you may have eventually ascended to primera."

Nel raised her lance over her shoulder, "Lanzador Verde!" she said as she threw the lance at a speed far greater than what she could achieve in just her first release. "I'm done with your words, Aizen. You always told us never to trust you, so everything you say is irrelevant." The spinning lance had just reached him at that point.

"Rippuru, Kyoka Suigetsu."

What Ichigo experienced next he could only describe as... unique. The world turned blue and time froze – except for Aizen. Though Ichigo could think and see, he couldn't move at all; only Aizen could. He saw Aizen step back and out of the way of the lance that was previously flying at him, and time resumed. The lance shot right past his left ear, leaving a breeze in its wake.

"Bankai: Giman Suigetsu." Nothing changed. There was no spike in Reiatsu, no visual change, nothing. "Rippuru," Aizen said, and he appeared behind Ichigo. The only thing that saved him was the immense Reiatsu he possessed, and the hierro that his hollow powers granted him.

The slash he suffered was shallow enough that it didn't hit anything vital. As he spun to face his attacker, he felt his back stitch closed. But he didn't have time to think about it as Aizen followed up with another slash aimed for his neck. Ichigo brought his sword up fast enough to block, but was thrown off balance when he was kicked in the chest.

Kenpachi had finally freed himself from the rubble he had been trapped in and launched himself at Aizen, cleaver raised.

"Rippuru," Aizen said softly, and stepped out of the way as time slowed. Kenpachi; however, had gained such fighting strength that he didn't need to make contact to damage an opponent. As he flew past Aizen, he slashed the air with his cleaver. Aizen's eyes widened as an alarmingly deep cut appeared across his chest.

Nel used this chance to sonido behind Aizen and impale him from behind. Aizen repeated his vocal command, "Rippuru," and once again, time slowed. He stepped out from the lance and to the side. He then kicked Kenpachi and Nel several meters away.

" **How are you doing that? What the hell is going on?** " Ichigo asked.

"You are aware of what my zanpakuto's ability is, yes?" Ichigo nodded and he continued. "Well, my bankai extends its power to reality. Where my shikai controls all five senses of the victim, my bankai controls reality. For example, should I be wounded; I can 'control' reality's sense of touch, and it will believe I was never harmed. You cannot touch me."

" **So what you're saying is, I have to kill you faster than you can use your power. Got it.** " He warbled. " **Getsuga Tensho!** " He swung his sword in an arc as he released a crescent of power.

Nel followed up his attack with her own: "Danza de la Muerte Verde!" She leapt into the air to begin her dance. Aizen, having not seen her use this technique before, was surprised just enough to allow himself to be hit by Ichigo's attack, which dazed him long enough for Nel to connect with hers. Her movement began to blur, and gashes began to appear on Aizen's body.

Just as the dance finished, through ragged breathing, Aizen managed to grind out a "Rippuru." His wounds healed once again, and reality returned to normal. "There is no way you can kill me! Even with Neliel and that monster Kenpachi by your side." Aizen took that moment to finally incapacitate Zaraki with a 'Hado no. 88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō' to the face as he flew at him once again, "You stand no chance against me."

"Your arrogance is your downfall once again." A voice that surprised everyone present said. Uryuu Ishida stood a few meters behind Aizen with a small metal container, the size of a pocket lighter. "Sprenger." He turned the container so a drop of bright blue liquid fell from it, and landed on one of the five Seele Schneider forming a pentagon that Aizen was coincidentally standing in the middle of. The sword-like arrows lit up as Aizen's eyes widened in shock. Raw, blue energy raced from each of the arrows and collided in the middle, creating a massive explosion. "Now Ichigo!"

Ichigo knew what he wanted him to do immediately. " **Gran Rey Cero!** " He screamed as he charged the largest Cero he had ever created. He felt an enormous drain as he released the beam of energy, and Uryuu jumped out of the way.

When the dust finally cleared, everyone saw Aizen and gasped. His body was slowly disintegrating, both arms gone, Kyoka Suigetsu yards away on the ground. "Well done," Aizen wheezed, "I knew you were a sound investment. Relish this victory, Ichigo, for a new enemy will be here soon. I suggest that you ally yourself once more with Soul Society," his breathing grew ragged as more of his body disappeared. "Win over the 13 Court Guard Squads and Central 46 will have no power to refuse you. Do not die, Ichigo. I didn't put years of effort into you for you to die."

With that, the last of Aizen was gone, similar to when Ulquiorra died. Ichigo collapsed, exhausted from his fight as his horned mask dissolved. Nel rushed to his side and gave him enough power to function again, this time collapsing herself. As Ichigo stood and caught Nel, he looked to Kisuke. "Two questions: why am I still alive, and why didn't you decide to help?"

"First of all," he began, "I didn't help because I didn't want to." Ichigo gave him a deadpan look. "The reason you are still alive is because of my bankai, Kannonbiraki Benihime Aratame's. Its power is to 'reconstruct' anything it touches. So, I used it to 'reconstruct' you and your girlfriend when he cut you down." It was at that point that Kenpachi and Uryuu joined the group of three.

"That was fucking fantastic!" Kenpachi grinned.

"I had fun too! As long as Kenny's happy, so am I!" Yachiru popped up from behind 'Kenny's' back, smiling.

"Orihime let me through Hachi's barrier, but then she ran back home. Maybe she was scared to face her kidnapper again." Ishida mumbled, deep in thought. It had been almost as if she didn't want to see Ichigo. Weird.

"Kisuke, why weren't you crushed by that fight? The Reiatsu we were putting out was immense." Ichigo asked.

"Ichigo, let's just say I suppress quite a bit of my own Reiatsu." Kisuke laughed. "Now, let's go home before you pass out, shall we—" he was cut off as Ichigo collapsed. _Looks like Neliel didn't have as much power left as she thought._

It was at that point that the arrancar that had followed Ichigo to the mountains had recovered and made it to where the group of 6 were standing. Grimmjow picked up Ichigo and slung him over his shoulders, while Halibel did the same for Nel, who had reverted back to her normal form when she had passed out.

Uryuu, who was alarmed at first, walked warily back to town with them after being calmed by Kisuke.

After Ichigo and Nel were laid in the bed in Ichigo's room, the chapter ended because the author had no idea how else to end it.

 **Jesus. That was the longest fight I ever have or will read or write 2500 words! I hope I didn't disappoint you with it, making it too boring or unbelievable, but to be honest, Aizen himself is unbelievable. I put Ishida in only because you guys reminded me, or I would have totally forgotten about him. I thought about putting in Sado (Chad) too, but I couldn't think of a good way to put him in. I took writer's liberties on Aizen's Bankai, since we have not seen it yet (if ever), but Kisuke and Zaraki were canon. Once again, let me know what you think, and if you like this story, check out Astromormy. He's not only my beta, but his story, Equal to None, inspired my story. Thanks again, and I love you all. See ya.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Translations:**

Ōbushīrudo – orb shield

Kyohi kabe – rejecting wall

Kakusareta shīrudo – hidden wall.

Lanzador Verde – Spanish: green lancer. Japanese: Jade lance.

Salvaje Verde Atravesar - Savage Jade Pierce.

Midarana sutoraiki – Lustful Strike

Danza de la Muerte Verde – Jade Dance of Death

 **Ichigo's friends will be more prominent in this chapter, and I'll be alternating between first and last names, and Chad/Sado. If it bothers you guys, leave a comment and I'll do my best to fix it. Also, this chapter will meander a little more to make the transition to Soul Society more natural.**

Ichigo woke up in a cold sweat, but was quickly calmed by the presence of his girlfriend, who was currently snuggled in his arms. It was still dark out, and he was sore and exhausted. He was in his body again, and though Kisuke's Bankai had restored the majority of his physical wounds, his whole body still hurt. He snuggled into Nel and fell back asleep. He dreamt of the days when the Soul Society wasn't trying to kill him, the days when he risked his life every other week. He would remedy that particular situation in the near future.

…

Once again, there was an odd lack of a certain old goat trying to kick Ichigo awake. This meant he could sleep two whole extra hours until his body clock and the stirring of Nel woke him again. They both groaned as they sat up, but quickly began to 'congradulate' each other passionately.

Karin walked by the room with her father holding a glass to the door. She immediately kicked him in the side and yelled into Ichigo's room, "Ichigo, our resident perv is listening in again!" She then walked down the stairs.

Moments later, Ichigo, having stopped kissing Nel – to both their disappointments – kicked open the door. "DON'T YOU HAVE SOMETHING BETTER TO DO YOU OLD PERV? JUST ACCEPT THAT YOU'RE PAST YOUR PRIME!"

Isshin began to fake-sob and ran down the stairs yelling something like, "MASAKI! OUR CHILDREN ARE SO MEAN!"

"Idiot," Ichigo muttered, "Why can't he just act like a normal human? He's not a captain anymore."

Nel giggled as she wrapped her arms around his waste. "I think it's adorable, Ichi." She kissed his cheek, and they began walking down the stairs.

"Well, we'll be a bit late to school, but at least we'll be there." He grabbed a few waffles that Yuzu had made and walked out with Nel. On the way, Sado turned a corner right behind him.

"Ichigo! Are you okay? I heard from Ishida and Orihime that you were fighting Aizen!" Sado said in his deep, but almost worried voice. Then, in a calmer voice, "Hey Nel."

"Hey Chad. Yeah, we fought him," Ichigo said, grabbing hold of Nel's hand. "The only reason we won was because Kisuke and Hachi put up a barrier to protect Karakura town. I couldn't fight that hard until I knew it was up. Also, Ishida played off Aizen's arrogance and surprised him so I could hit him with a massive Cero. Why are _you_ so late?"

"I slept in. Ichigo, we need to fix your quarrel with Soul Society. Who knows when they will attack again?" Chad looked worried. He almost never looked worried.

"I know," Ichigo said with a pained expression on his face, "I'm going up in a few days. Even though I'd rather you guys not get involved, I know you'll follow me anyway." His friends were damn stubborn. That included Rukia, and Ichigo didn't like being at odds with her. She saved his life, and he saved hers... several times. They couldn't fight forever.

The group of three walked the rest of the way in silence, with Nel and Ichigo holding hands, and Chad a few feet off to the side.

They walked in the door just as a class ended and, as expected, Keigo came rushing at him. "ICHIGOOOO—" just like always, Ichigo stepped to the side and stuck out his arm. Keigo's neck connected with Ichigo's elbow and he fell to the floor. He looked up and opened his eyes wide. "Well hello again—" he was once again knocked to the ground as he attempted to talk to Nel.

"Leave her alone, Keigo," Ichigo said, giving him a dark glare.

"S-sorry Ichigo!" Keigo squeeled, hurrying to class as the five minute bell rang.

Nel giggled and pulled Ichigo to class as well. Chad walked in after them, smiling to himself. It was good to have splashes of normal in the ever changing world the spiritually aware lived in.

…

Class went by smoothly until lunch, at which point Orihime decided to begin talking to him again. She was worried about the fight the day before, for he had a small limp that a precious few noticed – including Nel. But during the whole conversation – unbeknownst to Ichigo – Orihime and Nel were shooting daggers with their eyes at each other.

What Ichigo did notice, was the look of defeat in her eyes. She knew she had lost to the arrancar. "Is something wrong, Orihime?"

"What? Oh! No, I'm fine!" She looked like she was desperately trying not to drown, speaking and waving her arms frantically.

"Um... okay," he said slowly, puzzled.

"Anyway, Ichigo, what are we going to do about Soul Society? We need to get you in their good graces again." Orihime looked genuinely worried.

"I'm going to rest a few days, then we'll go up and walk into some captain meeting," Ichigo stretched nonchalantly. He could handle twelve captains with Nel by his side easily. She wouldn't even have to use Segunda Etapa. He could tell his friends had gotten noticeably stronger as well. They could probably each take multiple lieutenants, and together might stand a chance against a captain.

Ichigo was confident that his little team would be more than enough, and, knowing his luck, Yoruichi would probably end up coming along too. Her advanced Shunko would be very helpful when fighting some of the captains. Just thinking about it was making him feel nostalgic.

The bell shook him out of his reverie, and draped his arm around Nel's shoulders as they walked back to class. They walked in just as the second bell finished ringing. Miss Ochi just sighed as she saw them walk in – she wouldn't stand another detention with the two of them, so she was just going to let it slide.

When all the students finally sat and quieted down, she began her droning, and Ichigo once again spaced out, just staring at Nel beside him.

The day continued on like that, and when finally the bell rang, Ichigo rose from his seat, gave Nel a quick peck on the cheek, and they walked home together, to find a brawl going on in the underground 'cavern.'

Ichigo immediately turned around and went upstairs, not willing to deal with a fight right now. He went up to his room, and he and his beautiful green-haired girlfriend fell on the bed and passed out, finally realizing how tired they still were from the fight with Aizen.

They slept without waking until the morning, at which point they once again woke up and went to school. This cycle repeated for a number of days – go to school, talk about the invasion, go home, fall asleep – until they were finally falling asleep _after_ dinner, instead of before.

They decided they would invade Soul Society after school on Friday. That day, school went relatively normal. Keigo was an idiot, Tatsuki was curious, class was boring, etc. At lunch Ichigo and his friends – Ishida, Chad, and Inoue – discussed plans for that afternoon, and as the final bell rang they all went to meet up at Kisuke's shop.

"Well hello there, and long time no see Ichigo," Kisuke said, making no move to let them in.

"Out of the way, blondie. We have to go clear things up with Soul Society," said Ichigo with a hard look, pushing past Kisuke to his 'basement' where the entrance to the dangai was, with his friends close behind.

They all made their ways down to the gateway and waited for the shopkeeper to open it. Kisuke strolled slowly along behind them, humming the original Bleach opening theme. He walked up to the gateway and tapped a big red button, causing a portal to open.

"Hey Ichigo, couldn't you have just used a garganta?" Kisuke asked.

"… yes." Ichigo said slowly. Every one of his friends face palmed.

"Silly Ichi," Nel giggled as she pecked him on the lips. "Let's go!" She shouted in glee, and they all began running to the portal, and Yoruichi appeared close behind as they reached it.

"This'll be lotsa fun! I wonder what my little bee is doing..." Yoruichi smiled almost like Kenpachi. It was kind of scary.

They all jumped through the portal at the same time and hauled ass to the end. About half way there they saw the cleaner behind them and doubled their efforts.

"Why does Kisuke always send us in when that damn thing is coming?" Ichigo asked no one in particular. "Kyohi kabe," Ichigo said as he threw up a wall of reishi. "That'll give us just enough time... now run!"

They made a mad dash to the end and jumped out right in front of the captains' hall, just as the cleaner would have swallowed them. Nel put her ear up to the door. "It sounds like there are about twelve people in there, and judging by their Reiatsu, all captain class." Nel smiled. "Ready Ichi?" She asked.

"Let's go," Ichigo replied. "You guys, stay here for when the reinforcements show up." He drew Tensa Zangetsu and opened the doors to the meeting, Nel close behind. "Hey everybody, long time no see."

It was at that point that Ichigo heard almost every shikai in the room released, with the exception of Byakuya, Kyoraku, Ukitake, and Yamamoto

"Ichigo Kurosaki! What nerve you have walking in on this meeting, boy." Yamamoto boomed from across the room. "Give me one reason we shouldn't end you right now."

"You can't," Ichigo said simply and was met with silence. After a moment, Yamamoto spoke again.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"I want you guys to stop trying to kill me, and I want to be on the same side again," Ichigo then added a quieter, "Although I never switched," under his breath.

Yamamoto was so genuinely surprised he opened both eyes; he didn't expect this boy to still remain loyal to the place trying to kill him. He always wondered why Ichigo himself hadn't killed and Soul Reapers. "I'm sorry Ichigo, but that is not up to us. Central forty-six is solely responsible for our laws, and we must follow them. Though many of us see you as a friend, Central forty-six has branded you a traitor. Unfortunately we must kill you." Yamamoto had a genuinely sad expression on his face.

 _So be it_ , Ichigo thought. "Nel, let's **go** ," Ichigo said as he pulled on his mask.

Nel raised Gamuza horizontally in front of her. "'Declare' Gamuza."

" **Remember: Non-lethal attacks only,** " Ichigo said.

"Got it Ichi," Nel replied.

The first of the captains to attack were the few that were really into it – the others hung back, not really wanting to fight.

The two small teams – invader and defender – saw sparks fly from their clashing Zanpakuto as they collided. Ichigo pushed them back with a weak getsuga tensho until none other than Kenpachi Zaraki arrived and crushed the arc of energy with a single hand.

Ichigo and Kenpachi both spoke at the same time.

" **Oh, shit.** "

"This'll be so fun!"

 **And with that, the chapter is finished. Sorry about the lack of action, but like I said, I wanted to make the transition more natural, and I felt like being mean and leaving another cliffhanger, just like that damn Tite Kubo. I hope you enjoyed, and I'll get the next one out as soon as possible. *Smiley Face***


	10. Chapter 10

Translations:

Ōbushīrudo – orb shield

Kyohi kabe – rejecting wall

Kakusareta shīrudo – hidden wall.

Lanzador Verde – Spanish: green lancer. Japanese: Jade lance.

Salvaje Verde Atravesar - Savage Jade Pierce.

Midarana sutoraiki – Lustful Strike

Danza de la Muerte Verde – Jade Dance of Death

 **Hello again, my friends. I'm sorry I haven't written in a while. A combination of lack of ideas and motivation problems contributed to this. Please bear with me, and for those of you with the patience to stay with me so far, congrats. *Smiley Face* Also, I suppose this is a story sort of after the blood war, but the war went down differently. Obviously, I won't go into detail on it, but know that it went down in a way that this story makes any form of sense. Hopefully that's enough plot armor for you.**

Kenpachi stood with a manic grin on his face, "This'll be fun!"

Ichigo's eyes widened as Kenpachi took the primal stance he had at the fight with Aizen. " **Uh oh."**

"Bankai!" Kenpachi could barely contain his excitement as the ever-present Yachiru dissapeared, and his skin reddened, his already crushing spiritual pressure tripled and all other captains visibly slouched.

Ichigo was given no time to prepare as Kenpachi flashed towards him. He raised his sword to block just in time, but was thrown back outside of the Captain Hall where what appeared to be a battle going on. Or at least it was going on, until the pressure Kenpachi and Ichigo released pushed them to the ground.

The pause Ichigo took to take in the scene of his friends along with several lieutenants flat on the ground was just enough time for Kenpachi to land a significant blow to Ichigo's mask, actually _cracking_ it.

Ichigo, feeling the change immediately, pulled his hand over his face to repair it, while blocking yet another staggering blow with the other. " **Wow, Kenpachi, you've gotten immensely stronger since the Aizen fight!** " Ichigo then went on the offensive, which Kenpachi blocked with his own blade.

Having gained more control over himself since his original use of the Bankai, Kenpachi spoke. "I was right," he growled, "This is fucking amazing!" He emphasized the last word with a vertical slash back at Ichigo, which was blocked by Tensa Zangetsu once again. The shockwave behind them, however, broke one of the many walls of the Seireitei in two.

" **Geez,** " Ichigo sighed, " **Even though it wasn't me, I'm sure Byakuya will hold it against me.** " He frowned. He needed to end this quickly, but the only way he could would cause huge destruction. He decided that the longer the battle went, the more destruction it would cause, so he raised his sword. But before he could start the invocation of getsuga, new words came to mind. " **Hollow art: Cero, Kingslayer**." Before he knew it, he was behind Kenpachi, the Cero beam along his blade that he never noticed had formed dispersed, and a deep gash opened on Kenpachi's stomach. Ichigo's mask then crumbled and he collapsed, panting. Kenpachi had already passed out, and the pressure that had previously saturated the air evaporated.

As Ichigo's friends got up, Orihime dashed to Kenpachi and began to heal him. She looked at Ichigo with a mixture of awe and worry. "What... what was that?" She whispered.

"I... don't know." Ichigo panted. He slowly rose and walked over to Yachiru, who had just appeared after Kenpachi left Bankai state. "Sorry about that Yachiru... I didn't mean to hurt him so bad."

Yachiru took her sheathed sword and knocked Ichigo over the head with it. "Silly Ichi, Kenny had lots of fun. That's all he wanted, and the injury lets him know you were fighting seriously." She smiled and dragged the semi-healed Kenpachi back into the captains hall, despite Orihime's protesting. "Thanks jiggles!" She smiled once more before she turned and entered the hall with her captain.

The other captains walked out of said hall cautiously. "Ichigo Kurosaki," the head captain boomed, "we accept your proposal to ally ourselves with you once again. However, we have conditions."

"Okay, let's hear them." Ichigo said optimistically.

"First, you must never again put on your mask in the Seireitei." Ichigo nodded his agreement. "Second, you must alert us of any new powers you have acquired since you fought the arrancar Grimmjow." Ichigo frowned but nodded again. "And finally, you must resume your duties as a substitute soul reaper," Yamamoto finished with the slightest grin, which Ichigo mirrored.

The less powerful soul reapers as well as Ichigo's friends had recovered at this point, and were all on their feet once again. The soul reapers that already new Ichigo were grinning, as were Orihime, Uryu, Chad, and Yoruichi. "Congrats kid," Yoruichi said.

"Idiot," Rukia sighed, "You cause so much damn trouble." She was still nervous around him since his outburst at her in the park, but she was slowly getting over it.

Ichigo sighed in relief. His life was _finally_ going back to normal.

After that exhausting battle, he was ready to collapse into bed with Nel, so after confirming his agreement with the head captain's terms they headed to the senkaimon. "You didn't feel the need to help me, huh?" Ichigo asked sarcastically.

Nel's response was a giggle that _almost_ made Ichigo shiver, and said, "I didn't wanna ruin Kenpachi's fun. Besides, I knew you could handle it and you are _so so sooooo_ sexy when you fight!"

Ichigo grinned as he walked through the senkaimon with his green-haired girlfriend, tailed by his friends a few yards back. They made it back to the real world and all parted ways, going to their respective homes. Ichigo parted ways with a quick "Thanks guys," and made his way home with Nel.

They walked in the door, up the stairs, and just as they entered his room, he was hit by a wave of dizziness. He staggered to the side and cried out as a piercing pain lanced through his skull. Nel Caught him as he fell, and the last thing he felt before the world went dark was her warm arms around him and her soft breasts against his neck.

 **END OF ARC 1.**

 **Well guys, sorry it was so short, but I wanted to give you guys a decent resolution, and five in the morning seemed like a great time to do it. Don't worry, I haven't abandoned the story, and I'll start writing arc two in a few weeks when the boredom of school forces my mind to wander once more. Arc two will feature a reappearance of a certain white doppelganger, and the introduction of a new, powerful enemy. Let me know if you want me to start a new story for arc two, or continue under this title in the reviews. This chapter did not go through my beta, due to availability issues, though they will return in a little while, so sorry about any errors. Thanks for staying with me this long, and I kid you not, if this hadn't gotten so many reviews I probably would have abandoned it for lack of motivation. Seriously, reviews are like my drug. XD**


	11. Chapter 11

Translations:

Ōbushīrudo – orb shield

Kyohi kabe – rejecting wall

Kakusareta shīrudo – hidden wall.

Lanzador Verde – Spanish: green lancer. Japanese: Jade lance.

Salvaje Verde Atravesar - Savage Jade Pierce.

Midarana sutoraiki – Lustful Strike

Danza de la Muerte Verde – Jade Dance of Death

 **Hey there friends, thank you for the feedback on the last chapter, and here you go.**

"… What's wrong... will... okay?... how bad... it?" Ichigo could hear Nel's voice faintly, as if from the other side of glass. He opened his eyes to a blurred world.

He sat up – or tried to – and instantly felt pain lance through his whole body. Unable to contain a scream, he spasmed on his bed and threw up. Luckily, he managed to turn on his side so he didn't start choking.

It was then that the others in the room noticed he had awoken and rushed to his side. They barraged him with questions of if he was okay, what had happened, etc. He barely registered their questions. His bones felt heavy, and his body felt cold. All of this was for one reason: he could hear laughter. It was not the light, carefree giggles of a child. No; it was the menacing laughter of the white-haired bastard that had terrified him for so long... the _thing_ that had overtaken him in hueco mundo, and scared Orihime. The monster that he had thought had disappeared.

And it was back.

Not only was it back, but it was strong. He could feel its faint influence even now, when it had just returned. He knew it would only get stronger.

Suddenly, the laughter faded, and his body was totally his again. He was relieved, but he knew it would return. He would address that issue later. He returned to reality and looked around. He saw Nel, Kisuke, and Orihime gathered around him. All three had worried looks on their face. Of course his dumbass father wasn't there. He opened his mouth but it took a second to find the words to formulate the question. "What... what happened?"

Nel took his hand and explained, "Yesterday you passed out when you walked into your room, and I laid you down on the bed... I called Kisuke and Orihime, but he doesn't know what's wrong, and Orihime's powers didn't change anything." It was obvious she had been crying. Ichigo had never seen Nel cry in sadness in her true form, and he never wanted to.

He looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry I made you worry," he said quietly. She smiled softly.

"It's okay." She kissed his forehead and backed away.

"Kisuke... I need to talk to you. Alone." Ichigo had taken a serious look on his face, akin the that of when he was fighting Aizen, but with no anger.

The two girls walked out of the room, and Ichigo closed his eyes. He said in a lowered voice, "I heard him."

"I see."

"What should I do? I'm... I'm scared – no – terrified for the first time since I fought Ywacht."

Kisuke hid his face behind his fan. "We can't let the Soul Society know... they would try to kill you and only get killed themselves... I'll need to run some tests to see how primal your Reiatsu is, but I have a feeling almost nothing can be done from out here. You may have to confront him again," he finished softly.

Ichigo agreed to the tests quickly, feeling terror spread through him. This wasn't the kind of fear that someone feels as a child after a nightmare. That petty fear could be solved with a hug from mommy or daddy. This was true terror; the kind that feels like being hunted by a killer, and the killer knows your address.

All Ichigo had capability to do now was sleep for a while longer. Kisuke left the room after extracting some Reiatsu, and Ichigo closed his eyes to the two girls rushing back in.

Ichigo dreamt. He had prayed for a dreamless sleep like before, but whatever god had indulged him previously had better things to do now. His sleep was riddled with night terrors. The kind of nightmare you can't remember, but the fear is worse than if you could. There was one dream, however, that he did remember.

 _Ichigo sat up. He turned to get off the bed and stood. It was morning, and birds were chirping. He wasn't sure what day it was, but he knew it was a school day, so he took a step towards the door and he was in the bathroom._

The funny thing about dreams is that they only make sense while experiencing them. Waking up and remembering them confuses the brain to no end, but the most ridiculous jump will make sense during a dream.

 _Ichigo took his toothbrush and began to brush his teeth. He looked at himself in the mirror and frowned inwardly. He looked far to disheveled to keep up his non-caring image. He finished brushing and bent down to rinse out his mouth. He opened a drawer to grab his brush, and started to run it through his hair as he looked back to the mirror. He suddenly jumped back, slamming into the wall, ripping the brush out of his hair and throwing it at the mirror._

 _Instead of glass breaking, he heard a warbling laughter. The white face he couldn't stop staring at was laughing at him back through the mirror. The white figure began to climb through the mirror and Ichigo ran. Unlike before, however, he seemed painfully slow. It was almost like running through loose sand._

 _Ichigo finally made it down the stairs and out of the door, running in some random direction. He soon realized he was approaching the school, seeing kids in uniform walking in the same direction. They didn't seem to notice him sprinting between them._

 _He made it to the school and saw his friends. Running up to them, he hurriedly told them to run. They opened their mouths asking questions why, but he had turned back to the gate to confront the white monster following him._

 _He didn't see him. He turned around and saw all of his friends lying lifeless on the ground, the white monster standing in the middle of them all. Overcome with anger and grief, Ichigo charged the monster, but before his fist connected, the intended recipient was gone. Ichigo found himself standing among all his friends' bodies, and looked down. He was covered in blood. Their blood._

 _He had killed them._

Ichigo bolted upright. He knew he hadn't just had a dream. It was a premonition of what was to come if he didn't do something about the hollow inside him. Despite it being but an echo of what it once was, it was surprisingly strong. He would have to stop it before it surpassed him.

Orihime had immediately hugged ichigo the second he sat up, and Nel had just noticed. Her eyes were tired. It looked like she hadn't slept since he passed out. But as Nel saw Orihime, her eyes lit with a new fire. " **He's MINE!** " She screamed in a warbling voice as she slapped Orihime across the cheek with such force she was thrown across the room to the closet door.

Ichigo looked at Nel with surprise and fear. She looked back with an almost identical look. "I'm... so sorry... I don't know what happened." Nel looked shaken. As Ichigo had seen before, she hated senseless violence, so her actions surprised both of them.

Ichigo suddenly felt an uncontrollable swell of pride in having such a strong girlfriend, and couldn't help but kiss her. Right in front of the already physically and mentally wounded Orihime. The pride he felt quickly faded, and he rushed to Orihime's side. She recoiled and dashed from the room sobbing. Just because she knew they were together didn't mean it didn't hurt. She would always love Ichigo. Even if he hated her, she would love him.

Ichigo was hit by another wave of pain before he could catch Orihime's hand, and their fingers barely brushed. Nel just barely caught him as darkness took his senses again.

It appeared he was only out for a few seconds, for when he opened his eyes, he was still in Nel's arms. He immediately tried to rush after Orihime, but his legs failed him. He then heard a crash downstairs.

"Nel... help me down the stairs please." Ichigo had just remembered what his predicament had made him forget. He had a house full of hollows.

Arm around Nel's shoulder, Ichigo limped down the stairs. Grimmjow was in the middle of fighting several arrancar in the middle of the living room. Cause obviously there was no where else to fight. Obviously.

His irritation quickly dissipated as his blood started to heat up. He wanted to fight. A lot. Before he could come to his senses he fired a semi-light cero straight at Grimmjow. Light was a relative term. The dark red beam of energy sent Grimmjow through a wall into the garage. The destruction was enough to calm Ichigo's boiling blood.

He blinked, looking at the hole in the wall. He was now really irritated. With the arrancar, his hollow, and himself. He had lost control like he had when he originally had to subjugate his hollow.

The doorbell rang.

Ichigo opened the door and Kisuke stood with a grimace on his face. "Let's get to your room. Nel, I'll need you too." When they got to Ichigo's room Kisuke pushed him down on the bed, and bound him with bakudo.

"What the hell?" Ichigo shouted. "Let **me go!** " His voice warbled at the end, his irises turning slightly yellow.

"Just like I thought," Kisuke said. "I ran tests on your Reiatsu. It showed that it was incredibly primal. Almost more hollow than Shinigami. Because of this, you are more quick to anger, as well as other more primal emotions." Kisuke frowned. "I didn't expect your mask to start manifesting on its own yet though." Ichigo rose his hand to his face and felt fragments of his mask on his face. He immediately dispersed them.

"What can I do?" He asked. He cast a worried look at Nel expecting to see sadness or fear, but he didn't see any of that. What he did see was burning anger.

"How DARE he try to **take you from me?! You are mine and mine alone!** " She almost screamed. Ichigo looked at her in surprise, and Kisuke with curiosity.

"Huh. Your voice doesn't usually revert to its primal state. In fact it shouldn't be able to," Kisuke spoke quietly. "However, if you are feeding off of the Reiatsu Ichigo subconsciously releases, your Reiatsu should be changing as well." Kisuke paused, as if in thought. "Okay. Ichigo, you are going to need to go to your inner world every night, all night. During the day you need to train your body _and_ mind. That's where Nel comes in. Every night you need to bind him and sleep with him. If he breaks free, his hollow could take his body and start trashing things, so make sure he doesn't move. During the day, you need to do something that tests his resolve. A strong hollow will crush a weak resolve with a single finger."

"Okay, got it," Nel responded quietly. She had calmed quickly after her outburst, shocking herself into silence. She laid down next to Ichigo and wrapped her arms around him, snuggling into his chest.

Ichigo forced a smile. "See you in the morning," he whispered as he entered his inner world.

 **There you go friends. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because I enjoyed writing it. This will hopefully be my last chapter without a beta, but I'm not sure when Astromormy will get back. Just drop a review when you are. :)**


	12. Chapter 12

Translations:

Ōbushīrudo – orb shield

Kyohi kabe – rejecting wall

Kakusareta shīrudo – hidden wall.

Lanzador Verde – Spanish: green lancer. Japanese: Jade lance.

Salvaje Verde Atravesar - Savage Jade Pierce.

Midarana sutoraiki – Lustful Strike

Danza de la Muerte Verde – Jade Dance of Death

Ichigo's inner world was in turmoil. There appeared to be several tornadoes off in the mountainous distance of the corrupted portion of his world, and where he stood, there was a steady rain. The oddest part was, despite the black clouds above and twisters in the distance, it was silent. There wasn't even a steady drumming from the rain.

But the sensation. Oh, it was horrible. For the first time Ichigo realized why Zangetsu hated the rain. It was lonely. The worst, most despair inducing feeling in the world is loneliness. Worse than the greatest sadness, hunger, thirst, or pain, loneliness is truly awful. That may be why Starrk was the most powerful espada.

This rain... was the loneliest thing Ichigo had ever felt. It was cold, soaking through his clothes and chilling his skin. It made him remember that day. The day he was left alone by the river. He remembered how cold his mother was. How cold the rain was. How cold his blood was when he realized there was blood seeping into the earth. That cold, lonely day.

He couldn't move, forced to relive his nightmare. He remembered how he sat there, sobbing, until a passerby came over to see what was wrong. The police arrived soon after. There was an ambulance, but Ichigo knew it was too late. He let the paramedics take him to it. He had cried all the strength out of his body.

He arrived at his father's clinic in just a few minutes. As expected, it was too late for Ichigo's mother, but neither him nor his father cried. The man who had loved his wife more than anything in the world didn't shed a tear. His sisters, however, were bawling their eyes out. Ichigo went up and hugged them, and they calmed a little. They stayed like that for several minutes, before Ichigo noticed his father had disappeared.

Ichigo went upstairs to yell at him for not showing emotion, but when he reached his father's room, he heard soft sobs from behind the door. He pushed the door open just a crack, and peeked inside. He saw his father shaking, holding a white dress to his chest, tears running down his face. He was crying into Masaki's wedding dress. Ichigo closed the door and never mentioned it to anyone.

His father felt the same as him. Terribly alone.

Ichigo could move again. He suddenly flared his Reiatsu and he was instantly dry. The rain fell around him like he had an umbrella, and Ichigo called on the echo of Zangetsu that he knew was here. As a dark swirl of fog materialized into the shape of Zangetsu, Ichigo summoned his Zanpakuto into his hand; he had a feeling he would need it.

"Hello Ichigo," Zangetsu's echo said. "I assume you are here to stop the hollow's will. Obviously, you will have to travel to the mountains that he inhabits."

"I thought you said I couldn't enter that area or he would take control."

"Though stepping through the corruption would normally consume your will and replace it with the hollow's, I can expend energy to protect you," Zangetsu explained. "Because the hollow and I are one and the same I can temporarily trick him, but it's not perfect. Even I will slowly be consumed, so we have limited time in the corruption. Luckily, there are certain areas where the corruption mostly avoids; particularly memories. If we move from memory to memory, we should be able to make it relatively easily."

"Okay... do you know where the memories are?" Ichigo asked. Zangetsu merely shook his head. "Then how will we possibly make it?"

"You know where they are. You will naturally gravitate to the positive memories. However, do not think these areas will be safe forever. The beings of despair will be constantly drawn to you, and naturally attack memories they pass. Be careful." With that last warning, he dispersed into mist, and formed into a hollow mask over Ichigo's face.

Bracing himself for the worst, he stepped into the corruption. He immediately flinched as every negative emotion he had felt hit him like a tidal wave. After a moment, he recovered and began to walk.

As he looked around, he noticed that the surrounding landscape was looking increasingly more barren and dead. It was very, _very_ similar to Hueco Mundo. He heard howling in the distance, and had to climb a hill to see the source. Peering over the hilltop, he saw what appeared to be a pack of wolves chasing a stag. Though far away, upon closer inspection he could still see bone-white masks covering the wolves faces. _Hollows? What are they doing here?_ He thought in surprise. The stag had no mask, however, and he moved in to get a closer look.

As he got closer, he was surprised to see that everywhere the stag touched, the corruption dissolved. When the wolves touched the same ground, it quickly returned. It was a memory. He could remember now... when he was a child, five at most, his mother had taken him to a beautiful lake to watch a sunset. When he had looked across the lake he had seen a group of deer, led by a majestic stag.

Ichigo knew he had to protect the stag from what he could only assume were beings of despair, and immediately began sprinting towards it. Raising his sword, he said the words that came to mind. " **Hollow art: Consuming Crescent!** " Though surprised at the attack, he executed it what he could only assume was perfectly, and every single wolf fell to the ground, whining pitifully for a second before going silent and dissolving, particles flowing into his Zanpakuto.

As the wolves dissolved, the stag stopped running and pranced over to Ichigo. As it did it emitted a flash and the corruption fled from it like the plague. Ichigo rested his had on its muzzle and ran his hand through its fur. The mask on his face dissolved and the apparition of Zangetsu appeared again.

"Why did Zangetsu absorb those wolves?" Ichigo asked.

"The hollow in you, though bound to your soul, possesses a different well of Reiatsu than you. Those wolves were born from his ever increasing pool. When you defeat them, especially with the hollow arts you seem to be so apt to using, you will be stealing his power and making it your own." Zangetsu explained. "I have recooperated. We can get to one more memory before morning."

"Okay, let's go," he said. Turning to the stag, he said, "Good luck buddy."

With that goodbye, Zangetsu's echo reformed into a mask, and he set out again. The pure area the stag had created was about 10 meters in diameter, so he didn't have long before he had to brace himself again.

After stepping out and enduring the emotional attack, he set out again in the next direction he felt a pull from. He walked for what seemed like forever through what had become a desert of white sand. It had been about two hours when he heard a faint buzzing sound. Curious, he sped up his pace, and the sound became steadily louder.

About half an hour after he first heard it, the noise had become an immense roaring that assaulted his ears. As he scaled the final ridge, Ichigo saw the source of the sound. A great sandstorm was raging in the valley below. Unfortunately, he could feel the next memory inside of it. Whether it was attacking or protecting the memory he wasn't sure, but he knew it wouldn't be pleasant getting to it.

Sliding down the ridge and hoping his mask would more or less defend him from the sand, he entered the storm.

And was immediately assaulted by millions of grains of sand. Pelting him over and over, hitting places that he didn't know were reachable, the sand created scratches all over his body. As blood started to trickle from the deeper cuts, Ichigo heard a roar.

Suddenly, from out of the mist, a giant masked bear leapt at him. As Ichigo leapt to the side, the sand began to shift and churn beneath him and he lost his footing. A shark leapt from the sand, barely missing ichigo, and its side ran along his cheek. The shark's scales, rough from the sand, tore at Ichigo's mask, crushing that half and slicing up the skin.

Finally deciding enough was enough, Ichigo outstretched his arms. " **Hollow art: Firefly!** " Red-black beams of light erupted from everywhere on his body, dispersing the sand in his immediate area, and encasing the shark and bear in energy. Their bodies became mere silhouettes as they were deconstructed within the Ceros. Once again, their bodies' particles were devoured by Zangetsu.

Ichigo could not enjoy his triumph for long, however, as the sand began to rip into him once again. He pressed on quickly, walking as fast as he could as the sand tore into him. After one or two more small encounters, he walked into a calm clearing... the eye of the storm.

Standing in the middle was none other than his mother.

Ichigo knew now that the storm was protecting her, because it didn't move so much as an inch closer to her. He knew a memory this strong would be safe for a while. Zangetsu's echo returned to his normal form, and Ichigo closed his eyes, leaving his inner world and returning to the material one.

 **Here you go guys, I hope you enjoyed! If you have stayed with me this long, you are amazing, and we have a ways to go. Our favorite strawberry is gonna get some cool new powers, and if you are wondering why he's using so many hollow attacks, im going to use his hollow slowly taking over as plot armor. See ya!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello friends, here's your next fix.**

Ichigo opened his eyes to see the green hair of his girlfriend. He tried to wrap his arms around her, but remembered his restraints when he found he couldn't move. He whispered into her ear, "Good morning, love."

Nel opened her beautiful brown eyes and looked into his. Pecking him on the lips, she undid the bindings around him slowly, teasing him.

"Oh, release me already," Ichigo laughed, and she finished releasing him, giggling. He really loved her giggle. He would like her screaming his name mo—what the hell? He frowned inwardly. It seemed like the hollow's influence was beginning to take hold more quickly now. He would have to begin training immediately.

At about the same time he had that abnormal thought, black trickled into the edges of Nel's eyes, and she leapt at him, tearing at his clothes, crashing her lips on his. Giving in to her passion, he began to aggressively kiss her back, bed creaking.

As they began to violently undress each other, Karin walked in.

She had come in to wake him before Isshin decided to be his dumbass self and break the door again. She coughed loudly.

After a moment Ichigo finally registered her presence and the lovebirds practically flew away from each other. Both of their faces went incredibly red, but Karin just stood with a blank face.

"You should be glad it wasn't dad or Yuzu that walked in," She sighed. "They would have thrown a party. That would be annoying for both of us. Anyway, I just came in to wake you before dad broke the door again, which _I_ would have to fix." She walked out of the room shortly after that, and Ichigo and Nel quickly got ready for school... which they would be ditching to train.

They made sure Isshin saw them walk out the door before climbing back in through a window and retreating to the training area underground.

Of course there were two or three skirmishes going on between the arrancar, which paused temporarily when they felt him enter the cavern, but soon resumed. Ichigo and Nel walked a fair distance away before they began releasing restraints on their power.

Their combined spiritual pressures were crushing. The more powerful of the arrancar had followed to watch the training, and they were on the verge of kneeling. Even their constant battles hadn't prepared them for this much power.

The female arrancar found it incredibly attractive. Nel, feeling Halibel's lust in particular, began to release even more Reiatsu, making sure it was particularly menacing. Every espada fell to their knees, and any other arrancar were crushed to the ground. They could probably use this opportunity to get stronger.

The espada, being the only ones able to raise their heads, watched in awe as the two gods began their training.

"Declare, Segunda Etapa," Nel invoked her transformation as Ichigo pulled on his mask. "Remember Ichigo, fight to cripple. If you can't hurt me, your resolve will remain weak." They both knew she could easily heal from a crippling blow, but that didn't mean it was easy for him to try.

" **Let's go!** " Ichigo shouted as he rushed at Nel.

"Danza De La Muerte Verde!" Nel took flight as she began her beautiful dance, slicing his body over and over.

" **Hollow Art: Kingslayer!** " A black Cero engulfed Zangetsu before thinning until it only coated the edge of the blade. Still taking wounds all over his body, he swung his sword right into Nel's waist.

The only thing that saved her life was her strengthened hierro. Ichigo's sword went halfway through her body, cutting through bone like butter, until he armored skin caused enough resistance to finally stop it. He removed his sword as she coughed up blood and fell to the ground, and Ichigo crouched by her side, feeding her Reiatsu.

He felt as if he had shaved off a portion of his soul, but he knew that to kill his hollow, he had to be able to kill his heart.

With the support of Ichigo's Reiatsu, Nel healed quickly, and after a minute or so of rest, they continued the fight. The rest of the battles went back and forth, as Nel learned to block any devastating attack he used, and counter with one of her own. They both suffered severe injuries, which always healed with a little help from the other.

As the day approached its final hours, they wrapped up their skirmishing, and moved to the last training exercise for the day.

"Okay, Ichigo," Nel began, "Now I'm going to hurt you. You will not fight back. You will not block. You will take all the pain and learn to ignore it." She took on a determined look as Ichigo removed his mask and dispelled his Zanpakuto, a cool trick he had learned by reversing the summoning process for the one composed of Reiatsu.

Nel immediately began an onslaught that he would _definitely_ feel in the morning. He took a continuous beating for about an hour, accumulating scratches and bruises all over his body. After that hour was up he lay there in agony for a good thirty minutes as he slowly isolated and ignored the pain in his body.

After he recovered he and Nel began to walk up to his bedroom, more than ready to sleep after the long day of training. Using the binding spell Nel had learned from Kisuke, Ichigo was tied to the bed.

"Okay Itsygo, there is one more thing you have to endure."

Ichigo looked on in curiosity and then embarrassment as Nel stripped down to nothing but her underwear and stood just out of his reach, taunting him.

"Nel," Ichigo gulped, "Please put your clothes back on..." His face was red as a tomato, but other parts of his body let Nel know he liked what he saw.

She didn't speak for the thirty minutes she was taunting him. All she did was stay just out of his reach, moving seductively around him. His lust was visible.

When the half hour was over she gave him a long kiss before redressing and getting into bed with him, snuggling up to his chest. "Good night Itsygo," she sighed before drifting into a dreamless sleep.

"Good night, Nel." Ichigo closed his eyes and entered his inner world to see his mother under siege by hundreds of hollows.

 **Sorry for the shorter chapter, but i thought this was an evil place to stop, so I did. I hope you enjoyed it, and make sure to review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you all for the reviews from the last chapter and I hope you enjoy this one!**

Opening his eyes in his inner world, Ichigo was faced with his mother surrounded by hundreds upon hundreds of hollows. It appeared she could hardly fend them off, the sandstorm that had been raging around them previously was now just a slight swirl, nothing more than a slight irritation to the hollows.

One of the many hollows lunged at Masaki and latched onto her arm with its teeth. Blood flew into the air, throwing the others into a bloodlust. As more began to attack, Ichigo took action. He pulled on his mask, and put as much power into his blade as he could. " **Getsuga Tensho!** " He practically screamed.

A shockwave of black energy tore through the wave of hollows, all shredding into pieces. Though many of the particles joined Ichigo through his sword, a portion flew into a wolf-like hollow that was significantly bigger than the others. Slowly, the remaining dogs drew close to the wolf and were devoured.

The wolf became that of a monstrous demon as Ichigo rushed at him with a getsuga coated blade. Ichigo sliced off nearly every appendage on the demon's body only to have them grow back. The demon crushed Ichigo to the ground under a single paw. Just as he felt ribs breaking, he heard it: a woman's voice.

"Shatter."

Ichigo's eyes widened as he heard the familiar invocation. He turned his head to see a woman in a simple gray kimono, holding a plain Zanpakuto. Time seemed to stop as she drifted gracefully towards the hollow crushing him. She touched her blade to the wolf's hide and slowly, beautifully waltzed around its body, dragging the sword against its fur.

The woman completed her circle and for a moment so short Ichigo thought he had imagined it, took on the appearance of a bat-like demon with a terribly sad expression.

An instant later the giant hollow shattered like glass and dissolved into the air. The woman turned to look at Ichigo "Hello, Ichigo," she sang. Her melodic voice could have made the most talented musicians weep.

After a moment he found his voice and responded. "Who are you?"

"You know who I am, Ichigo... I'm Kyoka Suigetsu," she said, and Ichigo could have sworn he heard a deeper, emotionless voice underneath.

Ichigo's body – though healing quickly – was still mostly broken, so when he tried to jump away from the Zanpakuto he thought was dead, pain shot through his body, immobilizing him. "How are you here?" He whispered. He couldn't believe such a beautiful woman could have caused so much suffering.

"Ichigo, I don't think you realize it, but every time you kill a being with a Zanpakuto spirit, that spirit tries to survive. It will attach itself to the nearest being capable of supporting it... namely, you," she explained. "When you killed Aizen, I sent as much power as I could into you, and ended up in the corruption. I've been protecting the memories ever since, hoping you would find me someday, and accept me as your own."

Once again, Ichigo could swear he could hear an empty voice underneath Kyoka Suigetsu's.

"Why should I accept you? You're the main reason my friends suffered through so much pain!" Ichigo shouted angrily. He began to burn with anger as he remembered everything his friends had endured.

"I understand how you feel but... Aizen was strong. With or without me, he could have crushed the Soul Society. Had you not stopped him the first time, the Hogyoku would have consumed me and turned him into a god," she said. "Please... I do not want to die."

Ichigo could understand the fear of death. He had felt it a few times now. First in Hueco Mundo, then fighting Ywacht; it was a horrible feeling. Despite the pain she had caused, he couldn't abandon her. She had saved him, and protected his memories...

"Fine."

Tears began to roll down her cheeks and she gave a shaky smile. She fell to her knees. "Thank you, Ichigo... truly," she whispered, voice trembling. "I was so afraid I would die here, amidst this filth that that wretched hollow created." Ichigo once again heard another voice, deeper and emotionless. Once again he couldn't make out what it said. Kyoka Suigetsu hugged him tightly as she dissolved and joined his mask, adorning it with small blue diamonds and dark markings like bat wings.

Just as the last of the spirit joined his mask, he heard a scream. Looking around, he saw a man with a hollow mask standing in place of the monster Kyoka Suigetsu had just destroyed. " **How dare you kill my brothers like that? I'll destroy you!** "

The hollow who Ichigo could only assume was a vasto lord charged at him with razor sharp claws. Ichigo raised his sword to block, but was too slow, and hole was torn through his chest. Ichigo fell to his knees in pain, grasping at his chest. As his vision began to turn black, he heard a voice.

" **I... here... you... call... name.** " He heard it say. This was familiar. A voice that he couldn't quite make out, telling him to call a name. A Zanpakuto was speaking.

Try as he might, he couldn't ask its name. He was lying on the ground now, oddly numb. He knew he would die, but he didn't care. Then he heard a new voice.

He didn't _hear_ it, per say, but more _felt_ it in his mind. A mix between a whisper and a hiss passed through his mind, and he knew the name.

Ichigo spoke. " **Enclose, Murciélago!** " Green-black Reiatsu exploded around him as the ragged hole in his chest smoothed into an even circle. The Reiatsu fell around him like raindrops as black bat wings unfurled from his back.

" **What is your name, hollow?** " Ichigo asked quietly.

" **I am Hide, the Wolf. My pack has prowled these wastes since their creation, yet you kill them without remorse! We are envoys of the Ascended Nameless, destroying the purifiers you so desperately protect.** " The hollow ranted.

Ichigo's eyes were cold as he gazed at Hide. " **I don't care how long you have lived, or who you serve. If you attack my memories, I will destroy you.** " Ichigo's wings began to pulse with Reiatsu before he was engulfed in darkness. " **Now despair, Hide, as I wipe you from this plane.** " Without another word, the darkness around him spread, and he whispered, " **H** **uelga de las sombras,** **Murciélago.** " A moment later, the cloud of darkness was blown away by a strong gust of wind to reveal Murciélago buried in Hide's chest, Ichigo standing behind him.

Hide, with a horrified look on his face, dissolved around Ichigo's Zanpakuto as he was absorbed. Ichigo's mask crumbled and Murciélago dispersed into Reiatsu. "Um... where did my sword go?" Ichigo asked, confused, as the hole in his chest filled.

"Now that you have more than one spirit, you must call our names when you wish to use us," Zangetsu responded. "Ichigo... do you not realize who's spirit you just used?"

"Let me think. Oh right! It was Ulqui—" His eyes widened as he realized what he had done. Murciélago was that demon's spirit. He was the one that had kidnapped Orihime. He felt filthy with it attached to his soul, but he couldn't deny it saved his life.

A dull, almost emotionless voice flowed through mind. "Do you wish for me to leave? Now that I serve you, you can cast me out and let me wither away in this wasteland." If Ichigo didn't know better, he would have sworn he could hear sadness in Murciélago's voice.

"No... I wouldn't wish my worst enemy to rot in a wasteland like this," Ichigo answered hesitantly. Murciélago was silent after that, and Ichigo decided to change the subject. "Zangestu, what did Hide mean by 'Ascended Nameless?'"

"I'm assuming by Nameless, he meant the hollow. The Ascended part confuses me. It could mean any number of bad things. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Zangetsu answered.

Ichigo frowned, but knew he had to get going soon. With one last look at his smiling mother, he pulled on his mask and trudged out into the desert. As Ichigo climbed to the peak of a ridge, a black mountain came into view with an odd haze hanging around it. He felt a strong pull from the mountain, almost as if multiple memories were there. Upon closer inspection, he saw thin streams of lava flowing down its sides. It was a volcano.

Ichigo had a bad feeling about this. He rushed towards it, tearing through the small fry hollows that popped up on the way. After about half an hour at top speed, he realized it was farther away than he thought. He was only about half way there at this point, and the battle with Hide and his pack had, though seemed quick, taken about an hour.

Drawing on Murciélago's power, bat wings burst from his shoulder blades and he took flight, doubling his speed. After a while, he got to the base of the mountain only to be met with two humanoid brutes that appeared to be arrancar.

" **Really? He's learned how to take off your masks, too?** " Ichigo asked no one in irritation. A vasto lord was strong already, but if his hollow had learned to take off masks, this would be a lot harder.

"Hey brother, it looks like Nameless," said one titan. "Should we let it through?"

"No, brother, Its color wrong," the other replied. "Nameless white, this one orange."

"Should we smash it?" the first asked.

"Yes, brother. We will kill it till its dead."

" **You guys aren't very smart, are you?** " Ichigo asked.

"Hey, what you say?" The first giant asked.

"He asked if we smart, brother," the second said.

" **Whatever, I don't have time for you. Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu,** " Ichigo muttered, and the giants froze in place as Ichigo began to move behind them.

After a second the giants leapt at the place where Ichigo had just been standing. _They're fast_ , he thought. Just as Ichigo struck with Kyoka Suigetsu, one behemoth swung around, slamming him with his fist.

"Brother! He's using mind magic!" It said, leaping after Ichigo.

" **Damn! Guess I still have to get the hang of you,** " Ichigo said.

Kyoka Suigetsu's giggled. "Did you think I was easy to use? It took even Aizen decades before he mastered me."

" **Fine. I wanted to end this without expending too much energy, but fuck it. Zangetsu!** " Kyoka Suigetsu morphed into Tensa Zangetsu, brimming with black Reiatsu. Drawing his sword back, Ichigo unleashed a massive wave of energy. " **Getsuga Tensho!** "

The arc of black energy cut one enemy in half, and sent the other flying into a cliff face. The one that split in two dissolved, feeding into Zangetsu. Though some power was restored, Ichigo had still expended quite a bit of energy, so he was a tad slow when the second giant slammed his fist into his chest. He crashed into a boulder before recovering and flashing behind the giant for a slash all the way down his body.

The second giant joined his brother inside Zangetsu as he dissolved into Reiatsu. Ichigo fell to his knees. His hollow was incredibly strong if just guards were that tough. Their hierro was at least three times tougher than Nnoitra's, so he had to expend quite a bit of effort.

"Ichigo," Kyoka Suigetsu sang. "We're running out of time. Hurry up."

Drawing on Murciélago once again, Ichigo flew to the top of the mountain quickly. As we all know, five minutes in anime can be either thirty seconds or two hours, and it had been the latter. Ichigo had maybe an hour before he had to replenish energy, and he knew there were several memories on the peak.

As Ichigo soared over the edge of the cliff face, a startling scene came into view. A female arrancar with flowing blonde hair was standing among a mass of lion-like hollows. On the edge of the pit of magma, Ichigo could see the first spirit he had ever met, the little girl he had left flowers for every day, and the spirit of a child looking for his mother. That one gave him quite a bit of trouble. He somehow resisted a konso for days, before he finally accepted his mother was in the Soul Society. He, along with the other two, were about to be thrown into the volcano.

 **There you go friends! If any of you are wondering why hollows are giving Ichigo trouble, its because of one: it would be boring if he didn't encounter any difficulty, and two: His hollow is almost as strong as he is, so his minions are strong too.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Before I Start, HAPPY SPOOPTOBER. I wish you luck in not seeing clowns. Clowns are spoopy.**

The writhing mass of lions before him was... immense. There was no other way to describe it. There had to be at least three times as many lions than there were wolves. There was a ring of empty space about five meters wide around the single blonde arrancar amongst them.

Their leader was so strong the lesser hollows couldn't even approach her.

Ichigo new this would be a tough fight, but he didn't have the luxury to take his time. He called upon Zangetsu while still using Murciélago's wings and flew above the arrancar while charging a cero. He felt his mask slightly crumbling. He really was running out of time.

" **Cero!** "

The red-black beam Ichigo discharged hit where the arrancar was standing and everything within twenty meters, obliterating every hollow it hit. Except the arrancar. The cero had diverged around her, gouging a pit around her.

"That was rude," she said, frowning. She raised her hand at Ichigo and said, "Roar."

A second later, Ichigo's eardrums burst as a powerful sound wave knocked him out of the air. The temporarily deaf Ichigo fell to the ground as he slowly regenerated.

"Snarl," The arrancar said, blue Reiatsu forming long fangs around her canines.. Dashing forward, she snapped at Ichigo, biting down on the arm he had just raised in defense.

Releasing a massive pulse of Reiatsu, he pushed the arrancar back. " **Ouch,** " Ichigo exclaimed as he looked at his ravaged arm. Looking up, he asked, " **What's your name?** "

The arrancar looked at him with a hint of condescending distaste. "Sakuya the Lion."

" **Well, Sakuya, you are very strong. I'm sure beating you will weaken that white bastard.** " Ichigo grinned as he pushed power to his blade. " **Hollow art: Kingslayer.** "

Sakuya watched in interest as Zangetsu erupted in red-black light before thinning to lightly coat the blade.

"Prowl," Sakuya said, and got down on all fours. Blue Reiatsu pulsed around her before condensing into bone white armor coating her whole body while she transformed. A tail grew from her tailbone and her teeth became even longer, now all coated with Reiatsu. She truly was a lion.

" **Impressive. Let's hope you aren't as strong as you look,** " Ichigo muttered. His mask was really beginning to crumble now; he needed to make this quick. He began to run forward.

"Rip apart," Sakuya said dully, and began to rush forward as well as her hands, which had now become paws, grew claws of Reiatsu.

Ichigo and Sakuya collided, and a massive shockwave obliterated most of the remaining hollows. Ichigo looked at his Zanpakuto in horror. It was sliced clean in two. He turned around to see Sakuya standing ten feet away, looking at him with a bored expression.

"Was that all you had? And Nameless hasn't taken over yet? He must be slacking," Sakuya spat. "Well, at least now we can weed out any more resistance without you getting in the way." She turned and began to stalk towards the bound memories.

Then there was a flash of golden light, and the corruption around them evaporated just as Ichigo's mask crumbled off his face.

A strong, yet almost wispy voice rang through the air. "The reason your 'Nameless' hasn't taken over yet is because of me." A figure in a black robe drifted to the ground. "I inhibit his progress greatly. In fact, if I wasn't here, Ichigo would have fought this battle long ago."

"Who are you?" Sakuya asked, finally showing some interest.

"I've been called many things, but I think the most common is 'Fallen Angel.'"

Ichigo cut in at this. "A demon? Why is there a Demon bound to my soul?"

"I suppose that's another name I've heard. Though when I was born, I was named Arakiel. I am the voice you've heard but forgotten." Arakiel raised his hand. "Unfortunately for you, Sakuya, I've taken interest in this boy; I cannot allow him to die here. _Divine creation: Hellscape._ "

As Arakiel spoke, all other sound faded away... until it was replaced by the agonizing screams of tortured souls. The deafening chorus of pain grew until Sakuya and Ichigo had to cover their ears. Suddenly, the screams stopped, leaving both their ears ringing, and the landscape changed. It became a fiery pit of heat, with dull moans replacing the screams.

As Ichigo looked up, he saw that Sakuya was being torn apart by hundreds of skeletons (and they were very spooky.) In all seriousness though, there was nothing funny about what Ichigo saw. Sakuya screamed as one by one, her limbs were slowly torn from her body. Finally, her screams died out and her body disintegrated into Reiatsu.

As the last particle of her remains evaporated, the landscape returned to normal, skeletons crumbling to dust. Ichigo simply looked at Arakiel in horror. It wasn't that he didn't want to say anything. It was just that no words were coming to mind. The horrible power he had just seen wiped away any coherent thought.

Suddenly, Ichigo realized that very few people had ever witnessed this power. Even fewer had remained sane afterwards.

"Too shocked for words? I understand. Let me explain some things, shall I?" Arakiel began.

"We 'Fallen Angels,' or 'Demons,' as you called us, live terribly boring lives. Upon our birth, we were given the gift of 'Creation.' Some of us, however, began to enjoy this power a little too much. While we were still angels, we resented our king. He was supposedly all powerful, and of course that inspired fear. So we created the Soul King. Originally, it was supposed to be stronger than our own king, and its only purpose was to overthrow him. We failed. The King of Angels learned of the Soul King too quickly, and immediately imprisoned him in a block of solid Reiatsu," Arakiel explained as he freed the three memories bound by the magma crater.

"The Angel King, Gabriel, then ripped off our 'wings,' and we 'fell.' The weaker of us went to rule hell, and the rest began to wander. Over time, we found humans that interested us, and tied ourselves to their souls. That's what I did with you," Arakiel finished.

Absolutely and totally understanding everything Arakiel had just said, no sarcasm at all, Ichigo asked an obvious question: "Why haven't I heard of angels before?"

Arakiel sighed. "Gabriel and his little minions are largely unconcerned with humanity. The Soul King does everything they were supposed to, so they pay next to no attention to the mortal world. A few of us demons have taken interest in you and your little girlfriend," Arakiel explained.

Ichigo suddenly collapsed to the ground, vision going black. As he felt himself returning to the material world, he heard a fading, "Looks like times up. Oh, and one last thing before you go: we have one other name. Soul Singers."

 **Hey friends, I hope you enjoyed! Please, if you think something is wrong with my writing, like if something doesn't make sense, let me know! I want to get better, as I'm somewhat interested in writing as a career. Till next time.**


	16. Chapter 16

Ichigo awoke to a cold bed, frowning. He had grown used to feeling Nel beside him as he stirred, and it didn't feel right now that she was missing. Groaning, he got up and began getting dressed. He had just managed to groggily pull on his pants when he heard a crash downstairs.

"What is it this time," he groaned, knowing it was probably Grimmjow causing trouble again. Ichigo could swear he was more trouble than he was worth. His body was somehow still injured from the dream, so every step down the stairs sent jolts of pain through his body.

Just as he walked into the living room, an orb of white fire flew past his head, blowing a rough hole in the drywall behind him. Luckily, nothing was set ablaze. When Ichigo looked to where it had come from, he saw an abomination standing on the new rug. It was purple and scaly, and had a single skeletal wing made of black sludge protruding from it's right shoulder blade.

It had no eyes, a foaming mouth, and painfully sharp claws on each of its toes. It was also fighting Nel. And winning. Nel's shirt and jeans were now in tatters, showing quite a bit of skin. It apparently didn't distract the monster at all as it swiped for her head, and she barely managed to dodge. It made a blood curdling growl as it pounced at her, claws digging into her sides.

Crying out in pain, she retaliated, trying to swing her Zanpakuto at its neck. Though it connected, it barely chipped the scales covering the soft skin, and it slammed her into the ground. As the abomination snapped at her head for a final time, she opened her mouth.

"Lasciel!" She screamed, and her body dissolved into shadows just as the abomination crunched down on the space where her head was. She reformed behind it and raised her blade which appeared to be shrouded in pure black smoke. She stabbed it down on the monster's neck, piercing its scales and sinking into soft flesh.

The monster screamed in pain as it began to writhe on the ground. Slowly, Nel pulled her sword from the thing's body, and it was engulfed in smoke. The smoke pulsed around it, almost as if it was consuming it. Suddenly, the smoke dispersed, and nothing but a single tooth remained of the beast.

"Wow," was all that Ichigo could say. Suddenly, knell collapsed and he ran to her side. "Nel! Are you okay? Answer me!" Ichigo felt her neck and was relieved when he felt a pulse. "She's just sleeping," He sighed.

He carried her bridal style up the stairs and lay her gently on his bed. He proceeded to lay next to her and keep her warm until she woke up (Just hugging you pervs!)

After about an hour she groaned and stirred. Ichigo was a bit disappointed, as he was quite content with their positioning, but he was glad she was awake.

She turned her head and smiled at him. "Hi Itsygo!" She snuggled into his embrace. "This feels nice," She said, basking in his warmth.

"What was that thing?" Ichigo asked quietly.

"I don't know exactly, but around seven this morning I heard shouting, and when I walked downstairs, Grimmjow and Halibel were getting smacked around by that thing. I let them escape, and fought the thing for about an hour before you showed up."

"You were amazing," Ichigo said and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "What about Lasciel? You did some really cool shit when you said that."

"You really think so? Lasciel is a fallen Soulsinger. I talked to her all~ night!" Nel said. "She's really nice, and she told me all about Arakiel too." **AN: By the way, when you see a '~' it means the word is extended, like 'allllllllllllllll.'**

"Huh. Why can't I talk to Arakiel right now?" Ichigo wondered aloud.

Kyoka Suigetsu answered for him. "I believe, Ichigo, that he is too busy trying to keep that pesky hollow at bay."

That made sense. Damn hollow ruins everything. Nel opened her mouth again and said, "Lasciel explained to me that each Soulsinger specializes in something, and Lasciel happens to be proficient with shadows and evasion. Arakiel is apparently very skilled in creation and destruction. A couple others that have joined us were Ezekiel, Samael, and Semyaza."

"Who else did they bind to?" Ichigo asked.

"Lasciel says Starrk, Yoruichi... and Kenpachi."

Ichigo's eyes widened. Starrk and Yoruichi could control themselves, but if Kenpachi had divine power... gulp. As if on que, a senkaimon suddenly opened in front of him and Rukia stepped out.

"Ichigo, we need your help. Kenpachi is going on a rampage and no one can stop him," she said.

"Okay. Nel, let's go."

Ichigo, Nel, and Rukia stepped back through the senkaimon and began the short walk through the precipice world. As they walked into the Soul Society they saw the flames of the head captain clashing with a yellow energy.

Ichigo and Nel dashed to the fight, quickly leaving Rukia behind. As they got closer they could hear the manic laughter of Kenpachi and the booming voice of Yamamoto almost, _almost_ begging him to stop. When Kenpachi came into view, he was looked nothing like he had before. His spikey hair was now seemingly electrified with power, and his body was engulfed in a yellow skull of energy. His face was now unblemished, all the scars he once had now gone. His sword was now a wicked-looking black katana with a handguard that wrapped around his hand. The handguard had rose-like thorns protruding from it.

The ground around him was cracked from his presence alone. Ichigo watched as Yamamoto's flames engulfed him only to be blown away by pure force. Then, Kenpachi swung his sword.

A great fissure opened in front of him, and ghoulish visions arose from it. They appeared to be something like zombies, with flesh hanging from bones, but their eyes were terribly alive. It was at that moment that Yamamoto chose to release his Bankai.

Suddenly, the air became dry, and a crushing power began to weigh over the Soul Society. The Ghouls' skin crackled and popped before they burst into flames, screaming.

Ichigo new it was time to step in now before someone died. As he walked forward, however, his legs gave out from under him. He felt a dam break inside of him, and a crushing pain rushed through his body. Like he had in his first fight with Byakuya, he was crushing his bones with his own power.

"Um, Ichigo? I think your hollow just loosened the seals. Five percent is now out of control," Kyoka Suigetsu said.

Everyone around him was on their knees, including Kenpachi and Yamamoto. "Nel!" He shouted. He needed her to absorb some of his power.

"Got it," she said. Her mask began to glow pink and the pressure slowly lifted. She absorbed about half of the power emitted, and everyone could stand again as Ichigo worked to control the beast that was his Reiatsu. That god damn hollow was becoming a growing pain in the ass.

After finally getting his power under control, Ichigo could stand again and began to move towards Kenpachi.

"Oh Ichigo! Come to join in the fu—" Ichigo smacked Kenpachi into the ground before he could finish his sentence.

"Damn it, Kenpachi! Which Soulsinger do you have?" Ichigo asked.

"Semyaza, angel of mayhem."

Ichigo sighed. "Of course it is. Get Yachiru and lets go."

Yamamoto objected at this. "Where do you think you are going with the Squad Eleven Captain?" He asked.

"I don't think you want uncontrolled divine power in the Soul Society, do you? You'll manage for now."

With that, Ichigo tore a garganta out of space, grabbed Kenpachi, and returned to his world with Yachiru and Nel right behind him.

 **Remember to leave a review!**


	17. Chapter 17

Stepping out of the garganta and into his room, Ichigo threw Kenpachi on the bed. Luckily, his dumbass father had taken his sisters on some dumb trip that Ichigo had weaseled out of, so he didn't have to worry about them. As Kenpachi tried to sit up Ichigo released enough Reiatsu to forcibly push him down on the bed.

"You IDIOT!" Ichigo shouted. "What were you thinking? You could have killed half the Soul Reapers in the Soul Society!"

"I was just having some fun. I don't see what I did wrong."

"Kenpachi, I know you haven't seen Yamamoto's Bankai, but I have. If his sword touched you, you would be dead. If he uses it for more than two minutes, it destroys a god damn dimension!"

Yachiru spoke up at this. "It would make me sad if you died, Kenny," she said with a frown and single tear in her eye.

The screeching roar of a hollow suddenly rang through the air and a great crash could be heard from downtown. Ichigo looked at Nel. "Lets go," he said and she nodded.

Yachiru hopped up on Kenpachi's back as Ichigo, Nel, and Kenpachi rushed to the sound. When they got there, they saw what looked like a dark-skinned cat-like woman with electricity forming ears and a tail. It was fighting what appeared to be a mix between a Vasto Lorde and swan. It was a humanoid creature with wings sprouting from its back, white feathers slowly drifting to the ground. Wherever the feathers had touched were devoid of life, plants shriveled and dry.

The cat began to move again after licking her 'paw.' "Ezekiel, blind him," she purred. That confirmed it. It was definitely Yoruichi fighting the titan. A great flash of light erupted from Yoruichi and her enemy roared in pain, wrapping its wings around its body. "Ezekiel, burn him!" Electricity pulsed around Yoruichi's body before converging into a ball in front of her. Just as it formed she spun, wrapped her lightning tail around it, and flung it at the giant's protective wings.

The second the orb of electricity made contact with the wings the giant screamed, and a large hole with smoldering edges was left in its wake. Yoruichi flew through the hole and said, "Ezekiel, bind him!" There was another flash as the giants body went flush against a skyscraper behind it with ropes of light binding it.

Yoruichi was on all fours licking her paws a second later before she looked up at the giant. "Divine art: Angelslayer." Yoruichi finally stood on two legs and raised her arm as a lance of light formed in her hand. She flung it at the 'Angel,' piercing its chest. The Angel let out a horrible scream before shattering into pieces.

Yoruichi turned to see her stunned friends as the lightning emanating from her body died down and dispersed. "What's up guys?" She asked as the building the Angel had been tied to toppled to the ground.

"Um..." Ichigo said. "What was that?"

"Ezekiel told me it was a Soulsinger, and that it needed to be killed or it would destroy the city... so I killed it."

The way she said it like it was no big deal left the group at even more of a loss for words. Sirens could be heard growing louder as people began to return to gawk at the destruction, unaware of the epic battle that had just finished.

"Let's get out of here before the cops start asking questions," Ichigo suggested, and they quickly made their way back to his house. On the way there, Yoruichi explained that she too, had been visited by a fallen Soulsinger in her sleep, and that Ezekiel ruled over light and movement. Ichigo, in turn, brought her up to speed with all that had happened in the past few days.

They arrived at Ichigo's house and descended to the underground cavern to make sure Starrk was okay. What they saw was Starrk standing amidst a hundred or so arrancar flat on the ground, unable to move from the immense pressure seeping from him. It seemed he wasn't sure how to keep it under control.

"Starrk what's wrong?" Ichigo asked with mild alarm.

"I can't seem to keep my power under control. Something named Samael is apparently bound to me. It said it controls poison. I guess it's similar to that Quincey's power with the lethal dosage. Apparently I'm creating lethal gravity to anything mortal, and dangerous to more powerful beings like arrancar."

"Okay. We'll get the arrancar out of here and then we'll get your power under control. Nel, Yoruichi," he nodded to them and they got to work carrying the incapacitated arrancar out of the chamber.

Some of the more powerful arrancar remained painfully conscious as they were carried away from the crushing energy. Halibel was in visible pain as Nel carried her up the ladder, but it was also clear from the blush on her face that Starrk's power was very attractive to her. Ichigo carried Grimmjow who was also in pain, but the frown on his face made his irritation clear. Kenpachi just stood itching to fight Starrk, staring him down with eager eyes.

After the last of the arrancar were cleared out, everyone returned to Starrk.

"Okay, when did this start?" Ichigo asked.

"When I woke up I felt a little heavier than normal. Then I heard a weird voice calling itself Samael in my head saying I was super strong now. When I looked around nobody else was standing," Starrk replied.

"Just let me fight him," Kenpachi said eagerly. "That should control his power some."

"Kenpachi, N—wait, you might have a point. This will also give us an idea of how you two fight."

After gaining a little bit of distance, Ichigo gave the signal for them to start their brawl.

"Don't hold back, wolfy!" Yachiru shouted from the sidelines. They had decided that Kenpachi wouldn't use his bankai in favor of living.

"Fine," Starrk decided. "Divine poison: Nightshade." Black flower petals exploded from around him, creating the image of a living, writhing shadow. Just a moment later, a few dozen inch-long thorns dripping with deadly poison erupted from the cloud of petals.

"Divine Strength: Force," Kenpachi said, and brought his sword up in a vertical slash. The swing created a powerful whirlwind that stopped the thorns mid-flight. "Divine Strength: Speed," Kenpachi said, and dissapeared. He reappeared directly in front of Starrk and swung down with the strength of a god.

"Divine poison: Black Locust," Starrk said and tapped Kenpachi's arm. The arm sagged immediately as if it had lost all strength to move, and Kenpachi's Zanpakuto fell to the ground. Some of the force from his initial swing had remained in the attack, however, and a small fissure opened in the ground in front of the Zanpakuto. Starrk stumbled at this, giving Kenpachi an opening to kick him into a boulder.

"This is fun! Hit harder!" Kenpachi's manic laughter rang in Starrk's ears.

"Fine. Divine Poison: Hemlock." A great shriek erupted from his twin pistols as he drew them for the first time. Wolves with ragged fur colored a wicked purple rose from the ground all around him. The wolves moved in towards Starrk and climbed into the barrel of his guns, one by one. When every wolf had been loaded into the guns, Starrk pulled the trigger. "Bang," he said, and for a moment there was silent.

And then a chorus of howls shook the room.

Each of the two bullets Starrk fired expanded into a mass of hundreds of the front halves of wolves, snapping and howling. The back half of the masses seemed to be compressed into a single point; a bullet.

Both masses of wolves crashed into Kenpachi at the same time, engulfing him in a deadly maelstrom. Slowly, the mass of wolves appeared to shrink. As the last of the wolves vanished it became clear that the wolves hadn't just disappeared; they had been absorbed into Kenpachi.

Said Death God was currently writhing in pain on the ground. Starrk walked up to him panting, gravity finally returned to normal; it had slowly been doing so throughout the fight. Starrk was the first to speak. "I hit you with something thirty times as poisonous as hemlock. That's strong enough to kill even you," he said. "Luckily I can reverse the effect." Starrk tapped Kenpachi on the forehead and he almost immediately stilled, groaning.

"Man, that hurt like a bitch," Kenpachi said. "That was a great fight though. Thanks." With that, he passed out.

"Well," Ichigo said. "It looks like Starrk, Kenpachi and I will be more brute force, and Nel and Yoruichi will be more stealth based—" he stopped suddenly as a sharp pain split through his skull. He fell to a knee.

"Ichigo are you okay?" Nel asked. "What's wrong?"

"I... don't know... I think... the hollow's messing around..." With those last words, he lost consciousness.

Ichigo's eyes opened as a great shaking woke him. He looked around and spotted Arakiel moving his lips frantically in a tongue unknown to him.

" _Ag ahrk aus, Vahdin se Dinok. Qolaas se vokul. Thu'um se tiid!"_ The shaking stopped and Arakiel fell to his knees. "That was close," he muttered.

"What just happened?" Ichigo asked.

"I used a language lost long ago to stop _her_ from destroying our soul," Arakiel replied.

"Who is 'her?'"

"It turns out that the hollow situation is worse than I thought. The hollow has a Seraph helping him. Seraphs are the oldest Soulsingers, as well as the most powerful. They have 'aspects' similar to how the espada did. Most Seraphs are female, but a few are male. The one helping your hollow is Faith. Her strength is truly fearsome, and if I was not here, you would have no chance of victory."

"What did you do to stop her from killing us?" Ichigo asked.

"I used the 'Shout of Time' to send her a few days forward. She'll return soon, so I need to teach you everything I can right now."

They trained for the better part of a day until Ichigo finally learned some basic creation and destruction. At some point he even learned a Shout. When Arakiel had decided he had learned enough to survive, they began to move. As they grew closer to the source of the hollow corruption the air grew heavy. Arakiel muttered a few words in that ancient language and the weight dispersed somewhat, but was still tiring.

"What happens when we get there?" Ichigo asked.

"If when you say 'there' you mean the center of this filth, we wait. Like I said, she will reappear in a few days. The hollow is too weak to do anything without her support. He's using her like a lifeline."

"Okay, so what do we do while we wait?"

"During the day you can do whatever. At night, we train," Arakiel said.

Ichigo began to feel consciousness pull him back to reality.

"Well, looks like it's time for you to wake up. Bye, Ichigo."

Once again, Ichigo opened his eyes to worried friends. He sighed. He was getting really tired of this.

 **There you have it. Props to anyone who knows what language that is WITHOUT GOOGLE. Until next time.**


	18. Chapter 18

Ichigo was getting really tired of this. His friends looking down in concern asking if he was okay... it wasn't funny the first time. He sat up slowly and his friends visibly relaxed. "Jeez, guys. This has happened so many times, you shouldn't get so worried," he said.

"Stupid Ichi," Nel said. "I love you. How couldn't I be worried." Her bottom lip trembled a bit.

Ichigo reached up and wrapped his arms around her. "Don't worry Nel. I would never leave the woman I love."

She sniffled a little and smiled. "Good. If you did leave me, I would hunt you down in the afterlife," she said with an evil glint in her eye. She kissed him on the cheek before breaking the hug. Ichigo laughed nervously before Rukia walked in the door a moment later.

"Good, you're awake. There have been problems in the Soul Society. Riots in the Rukon districts, hollow attacks, and even breaches in the Seireitei," She explained. "The Head Captain sent me to find you, but you had passed out for whatever wuss reason."

Ichigo groaned a little in irritation. He had a headache again and wanted to go to sleep _without_ entering his inner world. He got up and began opening a garganta. "Let's go see what's wrong."

The crew stepped through and crossed straight into the Captains' Hall. The meeting that was being held continued on with just a slight hiccup as the present captains were affected by the massive presence that had just arrived.

Yamamoto was speaking when they came in. "… threat has arisen in rukon districts three through twenty-two. There is a breach in the east seireitei wall, and squad 11 is currently responding. Several hollows have been spotted in rukon district 8, 15, and 34. All in all, we are lacking the manpower to deal with this crisis."

Captain Kurotsuchi spoke up. "We could reinstate the use of mod sou—"

"No!" Yamamoto cut him off.

Ichigo decided that they had waited long enough, and his little crew walked into sight. "Head captain, we can take care of the threats."

"What makes you think that five people can oppose what the Thirteen Court Guard Squads cannot?"

"Don't worry about it... I'll just say we've acquired a few new powers," Ichigo replied. After a short conversation with the others about who would take what areas, they all split up. Ichigo would take the Seireitei wall, Nel and Yoruichi would split the rukon threats, and Starrk and Kenpachi would take the hollows.

Ichigo could see the fighting from the Squad One barracks. There appeared to be a distortion in the air in the area where various explosions and flashing lights were coming from. As he approached he began to feel unnaturally happy. When he arrived at the scene of the fight, he could barely contain his excitement.

Only when Ichigo approached the distortion in the air could he see what Squad Eleven was fighting. A grotesque mass of tentacles constituted the monster's legs. Its arms were muscular and long, and its hands had talons for fingers. In the center of it's palms were yellow orbs of light that seemed to twist reality itself around them. It's torso appeared to be a hard, rocky substance, and what Ichigo guessed was it's head was a smooth orb embedded in the very peak of the torso. Above it's head were two flat vertical plates of a substance similar to it's torso, floating slightly above its shoulders.

Ichigo couldn't help but laugh at the horror in front of him. For whatever reason, he was filled with a happiness he had never felt before, and laughing seemed like the right thing to do. "What the hell are you?" He asked, still shaking with laughter.

A gravely, yet feminine voice rang out in his head. _I am Joy, the Seraph of Distortion. Joy distorts humanity's perception of reality, and so I do as well._

As he heard the voice, he looked around, and noticed for the first time that all the members of Squad Eleven were smiling the manic smiles that he had grown used to seeing on Kenpachi.

"Oh. That's cool, but that means you're evil. Sorry, but I have to kill you now," Ichigo said, and called upon Murcielago. Wings unfurled behind his back and he slowly ascended to Joy's eye level. Ichigo's mask appeared on his face of it's own volition.

" **Getsuga Tensho!** " Ichigo swung Zangetsu vertically and unleashed an arc of red-black energy. The Seraph raised it's hand and caught the wave of energy with its bare hand. It gave Ichigo flashbacks to Ulquiorra.

Joy spoke. "Holy Nova," It said, and a beam of white light crashed into Ichigo, shredding his Bankai robes. He slammed into the ground at bone crushing speed, blowing a crater into the ground. He slowly stood, rubbing his back.

" **Fuck that hurt. Divine creation: Reaper.** " Ichigo was engulfed in a cloud of blackness, and when it dispersed, he was clad in a pitch black cliché Grimm Reaper outfit, a hood obscuring his face in shadow.

Ichigo raised his arms and black skeletons began to climb out of the ground.

"What? You have Arakiel inside you? That disgrace has always resented Gabriel's perfection. To think he was an archangel once." The Seraph tapped the ground with a single finger, and a chasm opened up in the ground. Magma gushed from the hole and engulfed the majority of the skeletons, melting them instantly. The few that remained crumbled when the Seraph let loose another nova.

Soon after the skeletons were destroyed the Seraph delivered a crushing kick into Ichigo's body, sending him flying into a Seireitei wall and almost knocking him unconscious. Arakiel's voice rang through Ichigo's foggy mind with clarity. _Use the Shout, Ichigo. Shout and slay this Seraph._

After just a second of concentration, Ichigo let his Voice be heard. " _ **Mul Qah Diiv!**_ _"_

The echo could be heard from the world of the living as Ichigo was filled with the strength of a monster. Spectral scales coated his body, and reptilian wings grew from his back.

He could destroy villages.

He could devour giants.

He held the power of a dragon, and a Seraph stood no chance.

" **Divine Destruction:** _ **Yol**_ **.** " As he spoke, a great gout of flame erupted from his mouth, engulfing the Seraph. It screamed a horrible scream and writhed on the ground in pain as the fire slowly went out. When the flames finally died, the Seraph stood once more, its flesh blackened and, in places, burned off the bone.

"You little bastard. You think your hellfire can hurt me? I am a Seraph! One of Gabriel's finest creations! I am Joy! Adore me!" The Seraph ranted. "Distort: Senses."

Suddenly, Ichigo felt incredibly happy. So happy, he laughed at the lance of light that the Seraph had just buried in his stomach. He laughed at the blood seeping from his body, and he laughed at the strength fading from his body. He laughed until he ran out of breath. He inhaled to laugh again, but before he could, four columns of fire spewed from the ground around the Seraph. Suddenly it's influence over him was broken, and he could think clearly again. He raised his hand to his wound. " **Yol,** " he said, and it was cauterized with a grunt. Had his scales not prevented the lance from hitting any vital organs, he would be dead.

"What have you done?" The Seraph screeched. "What taboo did Arakiel teach you?"

" **In the language of Dragons, 'Yol' means fire. Combining a Dragon's mastery of fire with a Soulsinger's Divine Power resulted in the prison you currently stand in. Oh, and I wouldn't try to leave if I were you** ," He said as the Seraph approached the edge of the fiery prison. The second it touched it, the prison began to shrink, the four pillars closing in on each other and leaving fissures in their wake.

The Seraph screamed in agony as the flames closed in on it and blackened its small quantity of remaining flesh. Then it simply froze, face contorted in agony.

" **Divine Art: Seraphslayer.** " A ball of light engulfed Ichigo for a few seconds before dispersing and revealing five spectral Zanpakuto fanned out behind Ichigo's back, all copies of Zangetsu. The weapons angled themselves at the imprisoned Seraph and flew forward, embedding themselves in its flesh. A second later, red-black ropes of Reiatsu sprang from each sword, and connected with each other in the shape of a pentagram.

The original Zangetsu was now coated in the same Reiatsu as the pentagram, and Ichigo began to run forward. As he approached the Seraph he leapt into the air and embedded Zangetsu in the very center of the pentagram. He jumped down, leaving the sword in the Seraph's chest. " **Dinok** ," Ichigo whispered, and the pentagram exploded, blinding all who were unfortunate enough to be looking at it. When the flash was over and the surrounding Shinigami regained their sight, they saw the Seraph's body laying on the ground, a star shaped chunk of flesh missing from its chest. As they looked upon it, the Seraph's skin began to flake and Reiatsu started flowing from the body into Zangetsu, which was now stuck in the ground. After a few moments all skin had disintegrated and only the skeleton of the Seraph remained.

Ichigo took off his mask and walked forward, pulling Zangetsu out of the ground and instantly felt a great surge of power. _Even Seraphs stand no chance against a dragon,_ Arakiel's words echoed in his mind. _Before the angels, the dragons were the gods of this world. Their most basic nature is to dominate, and so they did. Humanity worshipped them as the gods they were. However, there was a dragon who had conquered his evil nature. He decided that the dragons had ruled long enough. It was time for a new world to be born._

 _As his kin soared in the skies, he sat atop the highest mountain in existence, channeling the great power he commanded. When he had amassed a sufficient amount, he created Gabriel. The wise dragon taught Gabriel of the world and slowly created more and more angels. He used humanities strongest emotions: joy, hope... hate. These angels became the Seraphs. Twelve angels left the mountain without permission and flew above the dragons, witnessing the great atrocities they committed. The angels knew they had to stop these beasts, and began to descend upon the sinful dragons. The twelve angels attacked the first dragon they found, but couldn't seem to damage it at all. The dragon retaliated. In a single breath, he doused every angel in fire. Their wings began to burn, and their flesh began to boil. Not one survived. When Gabriel heard of the massacre, he was furious. Furious that the angels had left without permission, but even more furious that the dragon had killed every one of them without mercy. He called his brothers and sisters to a meeting and decided that the Seraph of hope would take 100 of the newest angels to slay that dragon. The seraph and her Legion departed before the wise dragon could protest, and attacked. Once again, the dragon massacred almost every angel that approached. He did not account for the Seraph's strength, however. Hope threw lance after lance of light at the dragon, each one doing slightly more damage than the last. When the dragon finally fell, there were only nine angels remaining._

 _The Seraph and her eight brothers and sisters returned to the summit in tatters. Gabriel's rage grew even stronger seeing how many of their numbers had fallen. He then commanded each of the five Seraphs to hunt down every dragon they could find and slay them. The five went out and massacred any dragon they saw. Two seraphs were slain before the remaining three forced dragons into hiding. The remaining dragons gathered and began developing techniques to eradicate the Seraphs. All the while, they bred the strongest of them together. After three generations of breeding, the Seraphs were growing weary of their search. Gabriel had begun to repair what the dragons had destroyed, and the world was hearing._

 _It was then that the White Terror rose._

 _He was a dragon with scales so bright that it blinded all who gazed upon him. His breath was special. While most dragons can only control either fire or ice with their breath, the Terror could use both. He was the fruit of the dragons' breeding, and the most powerful of them all. His ice breath was the strongest blizzard. His fire was the hottest inferno. He hunted down the angels that had descended from their heavenly mountain and slaughtered them. When Gabriel learned of this, his outrage was so great he ordered all three of the remaining Seraphs to exterminate the White Terror._

 _The three set out in full battle armor. They found the Terror quickly and immediately launched an assault. They threw lance after lance of light at him. They all glanced off. Deciding to toy with the Seraphs that had killed his fellow dragons, he used his ice breath to freeze two of them solid. The Terror laughed as the remaining Seraph's eyes filled with despair and anger. It attacked again twice as frantically, making even less progress than before. After a few minutes, the Terror decided he'd had enough. He prepared to breath the killing blow to incinerate all three of them. "Divine art: Seraphslayer!" The Terror exhaled. "Din—"_

 _Before he could finish the attack, an unseen force pushed him back into a cliff face. Looking to see what had pushed him, he saw none other than the Archangel Gabriel descending upon him, eyes burning with rage. With a voice trembling with anger, Gabriel spoke the last words the Terror would hear. "Divine Punishment! Flames of Perdition!" A roaring inferno hotter than even the Terror's breath erupted around him, literally melting him alive. The Terror's screams could be heard from the mountain of the wise dragon, which was hundreds of miles away. As the flames died down, no remains could be seen from the dragons' last hope. That battle marked the day the dragons fell, and the Soulsingers became the soul rulers of this realm._ _ **A/N: Yes I meant to use soul instead of sole. Puns, am I right?**_

Arakiel had taught him about the history of Soulsingers when he had trained him to fight Seraphs. Suddenly something clicked. Ichigo realized he had just killed one of the three remaining Seraphs. He had one more Seraph, hope, inside of him, and then only one remained. Even as this realization excited him, he couldn't help but feel worried. Not once had Arakiel mentioned his own or the other fallen Soulsingers' creation. Joy had called Arakiel an archangel. Ichigo could only wonder what caused Arakiel and the others to fall.

 **Sorry for the long wait, squiddos. I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing this.**


	19. Chapter 19

**For those of you that want to see more action, there are a few fights in the next few chapters that have potential if I don't mess them up with mediocre writing. By the way I'm sorry but I really am lacking in the motivation department to write the other peoples' fights. Sorry.**

After Ichigo was done with the fight with Joy, he walked around to make sure everyone was okay. There had been a few deaths, but they were nameless Soul Reapers who couldn't even ask their Zanpakuto's name. Ichigo hated to see the wasted potential, but at least they hadn't lost Ikkaku or Yumichika, who he had found passed out with grins on their faces in separate craters. Ikkaku was coated in dirt and dust, but somehow Yumichika was almost sparkly clean. There wasn't a spec of dirt on him.

After Ichigo had helped Squad Four, who had just arrived, carry any injured Soul Reapers off the scene, he walked back up to the captains hall. He walked inside and sat down, listening to the present captains squabbling about what to do. Ichigo knew that all of his companions would crush whatever they found; Joy was the only Seraph in the Soul Society, and any other enemies would be childs play for any of them. So he waited.

He waited for about an hour before he began to doze off, the captains still arguing. Suddenly, the door banged open and Kenpachi walked in. "That wasn't very fun at all. Those weak little hollows were nothing." Starrk walked in a second later.

"What are you talking about? There must have been at least 300! Not to mention those damn Soulsingers played with them before they attacked, so they were really strong."

Ichigo laughed at the pair's banter and offered them seats on his left. A few minutes later Nel and Yoruichi returned as well. He offered them seats on his right, putting his arm around Nel and giving her a kiss on the cheek. No one noticed the slightly jealous look that flickered across Yoruichi's face.

The Captains in the room were shocked into silence when they saw that the returning fighters were by and large unscathed. They were especially surprised to see Ichigo, who had fought something alone that all of Squad Eleven couldn't neutralize, had nothing more than some ripped clothing. Luckily for him, his hollow powers had granted him high speed regeneration almost as advanced as Ulquiorra's.

"Ichigo Kurosaki," The Head Captain's voice rang through the room. "Tell me, how did you and your... allies defeat what the collective force of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads struggled to survive against? If we could implement your tactics, we may be able to deal with any problems in the future without having to rely on you so much. I'm sure it would make your life easier."

Nel's giggle echoed through the chamber. "Sorry old man, but I'm afraid that isn't possible."

"And why is that, filthy hollow?" Soifon asked. Immediately afterward a great pressure flattened every captain in the room.

"What was that, _Captain Soifon_?" Ichigo growled, fragments of his mask slowly forming on his face.

"It's okay, love," Nel said, and Ichigo's mask dissolved once again, pressure subsiding. "I'm sorry, Captain Soifon, but the power we have been granted is unique to us. You saw it in Kenpachi when he had no control over it and just allowed it to run loose. Now, all of us are at least three times as powerful as he was when he first acquired his power — well, Ichigo and I are far stronger than that, but I'm not sure I could put ours into words."

Once again, the captains fell silent. After a moment, Toshiro spoke up. "Even if there is no way for us to acquire the power you possess, is there any way we could defend against an enemy of the strength we've seen so far?"

It was Ichigo's turn to speak. "We can help train you, but there is a limit to the strength you can achieve. If all of you can become strong enough to damage Starrk, you will at least be able to hold off a basic Soulsinger for a few hours. That should give us plenty of time to arrive and help. Should another Seraph appear, however, nearly all of you will stand no chance. Those shouldn't be a problem though, as there are a maximum of three still in existence." He didn't the mention the part about one of them helping his hollow to overthrow him.

"Thank you, Ichigo," Yamamoto said. "That would be a great help. In addition to that, I have called upon the Soul King's True Guard. They should arrive within the month."

"Who are the 'True Guard?' We didn't see them when we fought Ywacht." Ichigo asked.

"You see Ichigo, the True Guard are incredibly powerful. They were the true reason that Ywacht was defeated just over one thousand years ago. I may have weakened him, but they were the ones that imprisoned him." Yamamoto explained. "Their power comes at a price, however. Should they use too much, as they did one thousand years ago, they revert to a sleeplike state that renders them useless. They must sleep for just over a millennia before they recover fully, and only then can they awaken. They are expected to finally end their slumber in the next couple weeks. After a day or two of reorienting themselves with the new world, they will join us here in the Seireitei."

"I see," Ichigo said. "Well then, you all have a long way to go before you can defeat a Soulsinger. Starrk, please begin their training immediately."

"Wait! Why do we have to train with—" Soifon's mouth shut on it's own when a pressure even more powerful than before nearly crushed her lungs. "Never... mind..." She weezed, and the pressure dissipated as fast as it had appeared.

As Ichigo and his friends (Excluding Starrk) turned to go, he called back behind his shoulder. "Oh, by the way, should either Yamamoto or Kyoraku use their Bankai after this training, they will most definitely be able to quickly execute a Seraph." Ichigo paused as silence fell over the gathered captains. "However, if they are not incredibly careful, they will also probably kill everyone in the Seireitei."

And with that final statement, he tore a Garganta in the fabric of reality, and stepped back to the human world to prepare for his fight with his hollow.

 **Okay friends, I have a question for you. I can either add Yoruichi, to the pairing, or I can leave her be. I ask if you guys want it because though I adore good old Ichi and Ichi, if it would take away from the quality of the story, I would leave it out. By the way, although I make Soifon out to be kind of a prick, I actually love her as a character. It's just that I feel she has a deep-seeded hatred for hollows, and a lesser but still present hatred for Ichigo, so I think she would probably act with no small amount of hostility towards Ichigo and the crew.**

 **So with that I leave you with this chapter. Peace out.**


	20. Chapter 20

Walking out of the Garganta he had created, he looked around to see he was in his living room. He was aiming for the bedroom, but trying complex abilities after fighting a Seraph was iffy. Nel, Yoruichi, and Kenpachi followed closely behind him. Kenpachi immediately went to the training chamber to have some 'fun' with the arrancar that had recovered and returned there. Ichigo began trudging up the stairs, muscles sore and body aching. Unfortunately his level of regeneration only recovered injury, and didn't automatically rejuvenate muscles.

Nel and Yoruichi followed him closely, only a few steps behind him. He walked into his room and immediately passed out on the bed, welcoming the warm darkness of sleep. Nel was about to climb into bed and cuddle up next to him, but could feel a dark sensation radiating from Yoruichi.

"What's wrong?" Nel asked. She could feel a tangible... anger? Sorrow? She couldn't tell exactly what the emotion Yoruichi was feeling was, but it was very strong.

After a moment, Yoruichi answered her. "Nothing... it's just that I'm worried. He over-uses his power far too often, and I'm afraid it might be taking it's toll." Her voice was slightly trembling, and... was that a tear in her eye?

So it wasn't anger, Nel thought. It felt kind of like sorrow, but not quite. Frustration? That was closer. Nel had gotten very good at gauging Ichigo's feelings from absorbing his Reiatsu so often and now just feeling his Spiritual Pressure gave her a strong idea of his emotions. She couldn't tell Yoruichi's feelings as well as his, but it wasn't very difficult to get a general idea.

"He'll be okay," Nel said. "I'll keep him safe." For some reason, Yoruichi's Spiritual Pressure became even more oppressive when she said that, so Nel just stopped talking. She wasn't sure what she was doing wrong, but it was obviously making Yoruichi upset. She decided to leave her be for the night, and with one last glance at Yoruichi, went to join Ichigo in his bed. As she snuggled up to his chest and let his warmth guide her to sleep, her last fleeting thought before drifting off was that Yoruichi was still right outside the bedroom door.

Ichigo's Inner world

"Why can't I just sleep without waking up here for once?" Ichigo groaned as he opened his eyes to Arakiel's far-too-serious-for-this-time-of-night face.

"Sorry Ichigo, but Hope is arriving sooner than I thought," Arakiel said. "She'll be here within a minute or two. Get ready."

Ichigo stood quickly, pulling out Zangetsu. He quickly summoned Murcielago's wings and made sure Kyoka Suigetsu was ready. Even a second-long opening could be the difference between victory and defeat, and Ichigo needed to be ready to create one.

Ichigo closed his eyes and slowly began to gather his power while he waited. After a few minutes he felt a growing power in the air. It grew for about thirty seconds before a great shockwave shook reality itself and the hollow appeared. He held a simple Zanpakuto in his right hand. Ichigo pulled on his mask.

" **Hey there, Kingy! Long time no see!** " The hollow said. He seemed to be wreathed in power, a bluish glow emanating from him.

 **"Bastard. You've become a real pain, you know. I wish you would stop messing with me,** " Ichigo growled. " _ **Mul Qah Diiv**_ **!** " Spectral scales formed on his body and he could once again feel the strength of a dragon flow through him. Ichigo didn't know how strong Hope's power was, so he needed every advantage he could get.

" **Oh! I see you've learned some new tricks. But you know, I've learned a few of my own,** " the Hollow grinned devilishly. **"Devour all hope 'till there is only Despair! Zangetsu!** " The Hollow was engulfed in a ball of red-black energy for a moment before it dispersed in a flurry of wind to reveal him on all fours with gorgeous white wings sprouting from his shoulder blades. His face was covered with a mask almost identical to Ichigo's original mask that he had broken off when he regained his Soul Reaper powers with Kisuke. He had long white hair and a slender but obviously powerful tail. The Zanpakuto he had been holding was gone. Instead, there was a blade protruding from both forearms, and smaller ones covering his back like a porcupine.

The hollow gave Ichigo no time to prepare and dashed towards him with a speed surpassing Byakuya's. The hollow leapt and outstretched his arms, attempting to impale Ichigo with the blades from his forearms. Ichigo immediately sonido'd out of the way, and was just barely cut on the arm by the edge of one of the hollow's blades. Then the hollow froze. He didn't know how, but Ichigo could tell the hollow was grinning.

Suddenly his whole arm began to burn in excruciating pain. " **What the hell?** " Ichigo asked. Even his dragon armor couldn't protect him from a cut so small? " **What did you do?** "

" **Well, kingy, I simply cut you. You see,** _ **my**_ **Zangetsu's power is far superior to your's. The smallest cut will inject a neurotoxin into your bloodstream. As it spreads, it causes excruciating pain until it reaches the brain. When that happens, it will cause complete and total paralysis, therefore eliminating all hope of survival,** " the hollow explained. Ichigo could tell from the tone of his voice that he had a smug look on his face. Then Ichigo did something the hollow didn't expect. He raised his sword and cut off his own arm. " **What the hell? What did you do that for, asshole? What you do in here affects your body out there, and soon that body will be mine!** "

" **You really are ignorant, aren't you?** " Ichigo asked as a new arm began to grow from his bleeding shoulder. The pain hadn't spread to the shoulder yet, so he figured he could isolate the source and save himself by cutting off the arm. " **I guess you haven't figured it out yet. You see, before your return, I fought Ulquiorra again. I don't know how he survived the first time, but he didn't this time. Just before his death, Murcielago transferred over to my soul, and I obtained his high-speed regeneration in addition to your's. Now I can regenerate almost any part of my body in thirty seconds or less.** " By the time Ichigo finished talking, his arm had already grown back.

A single crack formed in the hollow's mask before it resealed itself. Ichigo could only assume it represented anger. Suddenly the blades on his back extended with a ripping sound that made Ichigo wince. An angry scream rang through his bones as the hollow charged. " **No! I can't lose! I'm the king! Me! It's** _ **your**_ **turn to be the horse!** "

" **You have it all wrong, hollow,** " Ichigo said as he was attacked. " **Getsuga Tensho!** " An arc of red-black energy hit the charging hollow square in the chest, blowing him away. " **Divine Destruction: Meteor Shower,** " Ichigo said, and lo and behold, meteors began crashing down from the heavens. Though they crumbled to dust upon hitting the blades on the hollow's back, it was clear he was affected by them as he flinched with every impact. " **Divine Creation: Dragonkin.** " Three spectral warriors with scales identical to Ichigo's own came into existence after a slight distortion in the air where they appeared. The three warriors immediately charged the already exhausted looking hollow and went in for the kill.

" **Despair Brings Death Just as Death Brings Despair,** " The hollow chanted and a wave of black energy pulsed from his body, obliterating everything in his immediate surroundings. The three warriors disappeared before they reached him, and the meteor shower stopped. " **My Zanpakuto can devour one's hope until they lose the will to live. Then they fade from existence.** "

Ichigo looked upon him in astonishment for just a few seconds. " **I see. Then I suppose it is time to finish this.** "

" **I couldn't agree more,** " The hollow said, and then charged with a warbling scream.

" **Hollow art: Kingslayer,** " Ichigo muttered before charging with the same vigor as the hollow.

They passed each other in a flash, and paused a few feet past each other. A second later, blood gushed from Ichigo's stomach and he collapsed.

" **Ha! Finally I'm King and you're the hor—"**

" **Shatter: Kyoka Suigetsu,** " Ichigo's voice rang out from behind the hollow and the image of Ichigo's bleeding body dissolved. " **Divine Creation: Hell's Chains.** " Chains materialized out of thin air and began wrapping around the hollow, immobilizing him. No matter how he struggled, the chains held true. Designed to hold even the most vicious demons, even the hollow's many blades could not free him. " **Divine Art: Seraphslayer.** "

The hollow's eyes widened as Ichigo walked around him, placing spectral Zanpakuto in the ground in the shape of a pentagram. " **What are you doing?** " The hollow asked frantically as his mask began to crumble from his face.

Ichigo finished the pentagram of Zanpakuto and whispered the final, ancient word for death. " _ **Dinok.**_ "

A great flash blinded Ichigo as a holy flame obliterated any trace of the seraph inside the hollow.

" **Damn it. You really are the King.** " The hollow sighed as he felt the last of the Seraph's power leave his body. He had returned to his normal form; just a white duplicate of Ichigo.

" **You have it all** wrong," Ichigo said as his mask crumbled off his face. "A King only has power if he is revered as one. You may have called me a king, but neither you nor Zangetsu ever truly thought of me as one. The truth is, I've never been the king, just as you have never been the horse," Ichigo paused and knelt next to his hollow. "We've had our differences, and you've certainly given me hell, but we have never been anything other than partners."

" **Damn you, Ichigo,** " his hollow said as the corruption around them began to fade. " **I never thought that I would actually begin to like you. Why don't you hate me? All I've ever done is try to kill you and take your body for myself.** "

"I can't hate you, idiot," Ichigo said. "You and Zangetsu are one and the same. You may have different wills, but I know the two of you have only ever wanted to protect me. You said so yourself when I was learning Mugetsu. Even if all you wanted was my body, you never let me come to harm."

The corruption was almost totally gone now. Ichigo offered his hollow a hand and he grasped it. "I guess we need a name for you now, don't we? What do you want me to call you?" Ichigo asked.

" **How about... Nashi?** " The hollow suggested.

The edges of Ichigo's mouth curled up a bit. "'I have no name.' That was what you told Byakuya wasn't it? You remain nameless even now."

" **Don't expect me to obey you like a dog like the others do, but I'll help you out every once in awhile.** "

Sensing it was about time to return to the real world, he started saying his goodbyes. "Don't worry Nashi, I don't really care if you help me or not. Let's protect each other from now on, 'kay?"

Nashi grinned. " **Okay, partner.** " He waved goodbye as Ichigo faded back to reality.

Ichigo groaned in pain as he awoke. The blood on his sheets was the only proof of the damage he had taken while fighting Nashi. Luckily, there was no severed arm in his bed. That one would have been hard to explain. His high-speed regeneration had healed his wounds, but once again his muscles were incredibly sore. As he began to sit up he felt Nel's soft form stir beside him. She mumbled something that made Ichigo's cheeks go red as she hugged his chest before opening her eyes a moment later.

"Good morning, lo— woah!" She exclaimed and jumped back a bit.

"Nel? What's wrong?"

"L-look in the m-mirror."

Ichigo turned his gaze to the mirror on the closet door where Rukia once slept. When he saw his appearance, he too was a bit startled. His right eye had become the golden-black eye of a hollow, and his hair had white highlights in it, as well as being the length it was after his Dangai training. The most startling change, however, was the golf ball-sized hole in his chest. "Oh my... we better cover that one up." As he pulled on a T-shirt, he noticed that was not the only change. His sore muscles had gotten slightly, but noticeably bigger, and he felt as if he had twice the energy he had had last night. Turns out fighting off a hollow took more energy than he thought.

He looked back to Nel and was immediately alerted when he saw her tensed up and twitching slightly. She was gazing intently at the door to his room. A moment later, Yoruichi burst through the door and ran to him. "Are you okay? What happened? Why is your bed all bloody?" Yoruichi was so consumed in searching him for wounds that he knew she knew wouldn't be there, she didn't notice the changes in his appearance.

"Hey, back off, kitty cat," Nel growled. Ichigo didn't think she was the jealous type, but in her defense, Yoruichi was quite beautiful.

"What, I'm not allowed to be worried about him?" Yoruichi shot back.

Now Nel knew what the emotion she felt coming off Yoruichi before. She could feel it now stronger than before: Jealousy. "You can worry your pretty little head off all you want, just remember he's _mine_." _That bitch doesn't think I know how she feels. Though, who_ wouldn't _feel that way about Ichigo._

Yoruichi paused, a little saddened.

"What's wrong Yoruichi? You know I can heal almost any wounds easily," Ichigo said.

 _It's now or never,_ Yoruichi thought. "Ichigo, I think I love you."

 **Okay, before you either start yelling at me or getting all excited, I have NOT decided whether or not to let Yoruichi in on it. I ended this chapter here so I could get some more responses before making the decision. I will say that if she joins in, her and Nel will be constantly competing to be the 'better' one.**

 **Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. If you're confused about the hollow name, Nashi means 'none.' Well, make sure to let me know what you think of Yoruichi. Until next time.**


	21. Chapter 21

**So friends, I got overwhelming replies for Yoruichi to get some lovin, so that's what's gonna happen. Those of you who voted against her, I hope you don't feel this detracts too much from the story. Only time will tell I guess.**

"Ichigo, I think I love you."

For a moment, everything stood still as Ichigo processed Yoruichi's words.

Then it went zero to one hundred _real_ quick.

"You _bitch_!" Nel shouted and leapt at Yoruichi. Even with Ichigo's incredible spiritual pressure, he could still feel the pressure from Nel's anger-fueled power. A small tear rolled down his face when he thought about how he would explain the mess that he could only assume was being made from all the crashing he could hear.

After the initial shock of Yoruichi's announcement passed, he realized he couldn't just let his house be destroyed... again. Stupid arrancar. Ichigo made his way downstairs to break up the fight to see Nel pinning Yoruichi down, Zanpakuto to her throat.

"That's enough, Nel," Ichigo said. "I don't want anyone in this house to die. Even if all of you weren't my friends, you all have far too much power to let you die."

After a moment's hesitation, Nel stood and stepped away from Yoruichi. Then she turned as walked over to Ichigo, pulled him into a deep kiss for a few seconds, and looked him straight in the eyes. Then she leaned in and whispered in his ear. "I love you. Don't ever forget that." Then she giggled and walked down into the training grounds to fetch Kenpachi.

"Sorry about that Yoruichi," Ichigo said. "She's a little overprotective. And _very_ possessive. But she's _my_ possessive maniac of a girlfriend, and I love her."

"It's okay Ichigo, you might not love me now, but you will. And I'm sure Nel and I can come to an agreement."

Ichigo was a little worried about them 'coming to an agreement.' He didn't want them shanking each other when he wasn't looking, but there was nothing he could do right now. Before he could say anything else she flash-stepped away at a speed he could achieve only when using the full powers of his mask. She maintained her reputation as a goddess even a century after she left the Soul Society.

For the first time in... he didn't even know how long, he didn't have anything to do. He still had a couple days before he had to go meet this 'True Guard' that the head captain had hyped up so much, and until then, he figured he should go to school. A good dose of normal is necessary every once in awhile.

After a few minutes, Ichigo went to get Nel so they could leave, but found a crater in the training ground. Lying around were unconscious arrancar and sitting in the middle were Nel and Yoruichi, both looking exhausted. For some reason they were trembling and had smiles on their faces... he wasn't sure he wanted to know what happened. That feeling was intensified when he looked around and saw Halibel, Grimmjow, and even Kenpachi a few yards away from the crater with horrified looks on their faces. Ichigo shivered. He walked up to Nel in the crater and tapped her on the shoulder. She spasmed for a second before opening her eyes. _What the fuck were they doing?!_ Ichigo thought in alarm.

"Wha... what is it love?" Nel asked slowly.

"… we're going to school today. I want to at least _feel_ normal every once in a while," Ichigo said after a pause.

Nel yawned. "Okay, but you know you don't look human right now right?"

Oh yeah. That. Ichigo thought for a moment before concentrating. At some point he had learned to convert his physical body into his spiritual one and vice versa without any help. Hopefully, he would look _mostly_ normal when he returned to human form. A moment later, he felt himself become flesh and bone once more. Suddenly he felt a burning sensation in his chest. A moment later he realized what it was. He had been in soul form so long he had forgotten about breathing. He gasped for air until the burning stopped, then went to look in a mirror. He sighed in relief when he saw that both his eyes were normal. Unfortunately, his hair was still dangai length and had small white highlights, but he could probably explain that away.

After he was satisfied with his appearance, he took Nel's hand and started walking to school. How he hadn't flunked out was unknown to everyone in the class, what with him missing so many classes, but they thought it might have something to do with his crazy father. The actual truth was that despite Ichigo's 'bad boy' reputation, he actually studied furiously any time he missed school just to keep a C.

Uryu was sitting outside the school when they arrived. "What the hell? Uryu are you ditching class?"

"No, of course not. I'm just... 'going to the bathroom,'" He replied.

At a second glance, Uryu was sweating heavily as if he had just been... running from someone? Judging by the time, it wasn't gym class yet, so that was the only explanation. But what was he running from? That question was soon answered.

"Oh, Ishi~," a voice rang through the schoolyard.

"Shit, she's still after me?" He groaned.

"The mistress has been looking for you! It's RUDE to keep her WAITING!" The voice sounded like it was getting impatient, even angry.

"Uryu, who the hell is chasing you?" Ichigo asked as he heard a door slam shut. They could hear the sound of shoes crunching on gravel; and it was getting louder.

"No time to explain, gotta book it," Uryu said, eyes wide in fear. He started dashing down the street, away from the school. Uryu's shoe scuffed the pavement as he began running and the crunch of gravel stopped for a second. Then—

"Found you!"

The one crunching the gravel rounded the corner to reveal Apachi with a manic glint in her eye.

"Which way did he go?" She asked when she saw the pair standing before her. Nel giggled and pointed in the direction he had bolted off in.

"Oh, you're mean, Nel," Ichigo muttered as Apachi thanked her and dashed off.

Deciding to get to class, they moved on. Luckily, they arrived during passing period and didn't make too much of a commotion, but that didn't mean they escaped Ms. Ochi's all-seeing gaze.

"Kurosaki! Mind telling me why you and Neliel have been absent so long, and now that you are back, are _late_?" She asked, clearly irritated.

"We've been... on vacation? And we got back this morning," he said. Then mumbling, he added, "I think that works."

Ms. Ochi narrowed her eyes but dropped the topic. Today was a day that, despite Ichigo's boredom, he listened intently. He needed to pass all of his classes; even with just a C. Nel, on the other hand, was simply gazing at him the whole day with a light smile on her face, clearly oblivious to her surroundings.

At lunch, he went to the roof as he always did to find an odd sight. Orihime, Chad and Uryu – who had returned to class just before lunch without saying a word – were all sitting and eating together. That wasn't the weird part. The weird part was that Halibel was with them, arm linked with Uryu's.

"Hey guys... why is Halibel with you?" Ichigo asked as Halibel acknowledged him with a nod.

Uryu responded. "Well hardly anybody ever gives me love, and the writer decided you shouldn't be the only one getting some."

 _Lucky bastard_ , Ichigo thought, unaware that he could have literally any – or all – of the arrancar crawling all over him if he said the word. Power was sexy, and he was bathing in it. In fact, even the human girls of the school were attracted to him; even if they didn't know why.

Uryu was very different from this morning. Appachi may have scared him, but he was brimming with confidence now. Ichigo decided it might be time to take him down a notch. They may be friends, but their fierce rivalry lives on even now. Aiming his Spiritual pressure specifically at Uryu, he even added a little hollow energy. He could see Uryu immediately begin to sweat, but he wasn't crushed as he was expecting. In fact, Ichigo almost immediately felt an immense power radiating from Uryu and his blue Reiatsu became visible.

"I've been doing training as well, Ichigo."

" **Well—** " Ichigo started then stopped as he realized his mask had started to materialize. _Quiet down in there Nashi! I'm busy._

 _ **Sorry partner, but I just can't resist a good fight! It always gets our blood pumping.**_

"Idiot," He muttered under his breath.

"What did you just say?" Uryu snarled back at him.

"Oh, I wasn't talking to you you dumbass."

After this comment the pressure radiating from Uryu got even more intense. After a second, Ichigo noticed that their friends had really started feeling the pressure. They were on the ground sweating, but it looked like nobody else was affected. No one else was on the roof, but the kids in the courtyard seemed to feel nothing more than a little extra weight.

"Don't look away from your opponent!" Uryu said as he formed his bow and fired a single but powerful arrow—

—and Ichigo caught it with his bare hand. He squeezed and snapped it in half.

"Lower your spiritual pressure before our friends start getting hurt," Ichigo said, glaring at him.

Uryu's eyes widened and the pressure he was releasing vanished. He looked around apologetically and was met with nervous smiles. "Sorry guys... I got carried away."

Everyone except for Halibel murmured words of forgiveness. Halibel was looking upon the two men that had just been fighting in lust and squirming, legs rubbing together. Uryu and Ichigo were both idiots; Uryu asked what was wrong, and Ichigo didn't even notice her odd look.

Halibel ignored Uryu's question. The two Alphas that had just been... fighting wasn't the right word. Maybe bickering? Whatever. The two Alphas in front of her made her incredibly horny, but she felt waves of jealousy wash over her as she saw that Nel had totally monopolized Ichigo – she wasn't aware of Yoruichi's role in his life yet. Instead, she simply resigned herself to the only one of the two that wasn't taken yet – although nothing would make her happier than having both of them at once... no, she couldn't have that. So she looked to Uryu and decided she would do a great many things to him when he got home. Locked doors were just suggestions anyway... or that's what she told herself.

Ichigo and Uryu, completely unaware of her thoughts, simply carried on eating their lunches. Nel, however, was acutely aware of what Halibel was feeling. She wasn't sure whether to pity Uryu or be jealous of him. She wished she could feel those feelings coming off Ichigo every once in awhile. Sure she felt his occasional bursts of lust, but never anything this strong. No, it was always, 'we can't right now, I have to go save a dimension,' or, 'not now, my dad told me we needed milk.' Of course Nel had suggested some alternative ways he could get milk, but he simply blushed, went mute, and quickly walked away before she could see the tent she already knew was in his pants. Silly Ichi, he thought she didn't know he would react to what he said.

Those thoughts and many more bounced around in Nel's mind as they ate lunch, but the most common one was 'It wasn't like the dimension needed saving _right away_ , was it? It could have waited a damn hour or two.'

 **Well friends I hope you liked it. This chapter was a little bit longer, mostly because I decided to fluff in some love for Uryu. It seems like none of the stories I read give him a lover, and Halibel was just lying around, so why not? Who needs characters that are rarely seen to stay in character, am I right? No? I think I am. It's not like she gets all that many frames in the manga either. Again I really hope I can continue to entertain you. For those of you who have stuck with me this long, truly, thank you. I started writing this on a whim without any real planning, so I'm sure there are a great many plot holes and inconsistencies, but for whatever reason I have been overwhelmed with positive feedback. I actually already have an idea for a Tokyo Ghoul story (fantastic anime btw, a must watch/read), but I promise I won't start that until I finish this story, which will be coming to a close somewhat soon. Once again, thank you so much for sticking with me this long and for all the great feedback. It's been a blast. But anyway, I agree with Nel, that dimension probably could have waited an hour!**


	22. Chapter 22

**It seems some people misunderstood the ending of last chapter. I simply wanted to give Uryu some love, not introduce Halibel into a harem. I simply put what I felt her thoughts would be. Hollows are more animal than humans, and even arrancar still have that animal instinct. Animals value strength and versatility above just about anything else when choosing partners to reproduce with, and obviously Ichigo was the strongest one there. However, I specifically wrote that she knew she couldn't get with him, so she settled for the next strongest there: Uryu. Anyway, with that cleared up, enjoy.**

Elsewhere

The man with silver hair and a red jacket stretched as he awoke. "Ugh. I am soooo sore right now."

A plain looking man next to him responded. "We all are. I didn't raise a whiner." He had black hair and wore a trench coat. His dark eyes were void of emotion, but it was easy to tell that he could care deeply when he wanted to.

The third figure with them sat up as well. She had shoulder length dark hair and a black jacket. She wore black jeans and had empty eyes as well. They were the eyes of one who had lost everything they had ever known and never quite recovered. "Be nice to the kid, Kiri. You know he's still young."

"Hey! I'll have you know I'm 1025!" The 'kid' said.

"Shut up, Emi. We used to be twice your age. Okay Maya, let's get going," Kiri said.

The trio began walking down the snowy mountain they had awoken on painfully aware of the being resting thirty miles away on Mount Choro. They shook off the ice and snow that had packed onto them as they walk and made small talk, wondering what had happened in the past millennium.

At the bottom of the mountain they found a Senkaimon waiting for them and stepped through straight into the back wall of the Captains hall. _Assholes,_ they all thought as they tried to stop the bleeding coming from their noses. Walking into walls hurt. They walked around the building to the front courtyard to see quite a sight.

A humanoid hollow with only part of his mask was fighting what appeared to be the entire thirteen guard squads. And he was winning. The most surprising thing about him though, was that there wasn't a scratch on him.

The three felt that they had to help and sprang into action. Emi dashed forward as the two behind him drew blue bows of light. The two archers drew back the bowstrings as twin daggers formed in Emi's hands.

"DANCE OF STEEL!"

The trio shouted it at the same time as the archers fired arrows not made of blue energy, but pure steel infused with Reiatsu. Emi twisted his body and brought his twin daggers down on the hollow just as the arrows reached him. The holows eyes widened and he disappeared, reappearing a few feet away.

"Sonido?" Emi muttered. He paid no attention to the fact that when the hollow had dodged the trio's attack, it had instead hit the ground where he was standing and left a crater.

"Who are you?" The hollow asked. "You haven't attacked me until now, so are you just lazy like me? Or did you have to gather power for that attack? Or maybe you just arrived. No matter the answer, you should really tone it down! That would have hurt and I would never here the end of it from lily—" he frowned for an instant, but it disappeared too quickly to know if it had ever actually existed. "...Sorry. anyway, try not to kill me will you? Although I'm impressed you can utilize teamwork to such a degree that it would endanger me."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Emi asked. He was actually quite surprised this hollow could talk without the normal hatred that distorted their voices. Although this one only had part of a mask so that might be the reason.

"Emi! Don't let up your attacks! Letting the enemy recover can be fatal," Kiri shouted over to him as he fired another arrow. This time the hollow just looked at it, unmoving. Emi smiled as he realized the fight was over. No one could withstand Kiri's arrows. Then his eyes widened as the hollow raised his hand—

—And caught it with his bare hand. Suddenly, he reached to his waist. Grabbing a gun they hadn't realized he had he raised his arm and pulled the trigger. A blue Cero erupted from the barrel and hurtled towards Emi. He quickly dodged to the side only to be hit square in the chest by a slightly weaker Cero fired from the hollows second gun, which he had grabbed while he was firing the first.

"Damnit Emi, you idiot," Kiri said as his bow dissolved into midair. Then he began to speak softly, voice echoing oddly. " _Where order has broken down, where cruelty and lawlessness rule, Lawbringers are justice,_ " As he spoke, blue reishi formed into a sniper rifle in his hands. _"They go wherever they are needed, and they come prepared,_ " Kiri aimed down the sights of said rifle. _"Pray you do not need them. And when they arrive, pray that you have done no wrong_." On that final word, he pulled the trigger. Carnage ensued.

'Bullet' was not the right word for the projectile he fired out of his barrel. As the projectile left the barrel, anyone who was skilled enough to track it saw a ball of pure reishi, hundreds of times denser than a normal quincy arrow. The ball was wreathed in lightning as it traveled, bolts arcing off and striking the ground thirty times a second. Everywhere a bolt hit, a small explosion occurred; however, anyone within ten feet of that explosion combusted immediately. Needless to say, quite a few nameless soul reapers died.

Starrk, being fast enough to track the 'bullet,' immediately tried to dodge. His eyes widened however, when the bullet curved in middair and pierced him precisely in the center of the chest, right above the diaphragm. He immediately caught fire, feeling unimaginable pain. Just as he felt as if he was about to pass out, he felt a great pound resonate through the ground and the pain stopped. He looked down to find the fire was gone, but he was covered in horrifying burns. Looking back up, he saw Head Captain Yamamoto wreathed in flame, Zanpakuto unsheathed. He watched as the fire swirled around him for a moment before entering into the blade of the Zanpakuto itself.

"That was a close one. A moment more and you might well have died," the Head Captain said. Luckily for Starrk, his Soulsinger had granted him rather strong regeneration, and was already slowly recovering.

"Genryusai? Is that you?" Kiri asked in disbelief. Partly because of how much his old friend had changed, partly because he had just saved this odd-looking hollow.

"Ah, Kiri! Maya! How have you been... oh, well I suppose you've been frozen for a while now," Yamamoto replied. "Emi, get up. I know something of that strength won't kill you. You might feel it for a while though."

Emi groaned as he got up, and then again as he felt his chest. Yep. That was going to bruise.

Starrk opened his mouth to speak. "Are we going to ignore the fact that I almost just died?"

The three newcomers spoke at the same time:

"Yes."

Yamamoto laughed. That didn't happen often. This simple act made it clear how happy he was to see these newcomers, though Starrk had no idea why. "I apologize, Starrk. I'm afraid my old friends here are unaware of the developments of the past thousand years."

"Whatever. Are we done here? I wanna go sleep off this pain."

"I apologize, Starrk, but I need to ask you to go find Ichigo Kurosaki and bring him here. It is time for him to meet the True Guard," Yamamoto said.

Starrk grumbled something unintelligible before lazily raising his hand to rip a hole in reality. A garganta opened up and he stepped through, sighing. Stupid True Guard. First they almost kill him, then he has to make even _more_ effort because of them. Finally he saw a light at the end of the darkness, stepping out of the pitch blackness and into the human world. He had aimed to where the unimaginable pressure in Karakura town was coming from, so he knew he would emerge right near Ichigo.

He didn't expect for Ichigo to be on a roof. Or for the garganta to open up four stories in the air over a school courtyard. Eyes widening, he began to fall. After a second he recovered from his initial surprise and found his footing on the thin reishi in the air. After an annoyed sigh, he began flying slowly back to the top of the roof. Reaching the roof, he found Nel and Ichigo shamelessly making out, hands in each other's hair. It appeared lunch had just ended judging on the students returning to the building from the courtyard, so they were alone, but still. In the middle of school?

Once again, surprise made him pause. But as the kissing grew more intense, he realized he should probably intervene before they did something he did _not_ want to see. He coughed. They didn't hear him. He coughed again, louder. They heard him.

The two lovebirds jumped apart, with Ichigo blushing furiously. Nel, though flushed, had a light grin on her face. She would do anything she could to get a leg up on Yoruichi. She knew how aggressive she could be, and Nel couldn't afford to get behind. Just because Yoruichi hadn't made a move yet didn't mean she wouldn't soon.

Starrk, unaware of any of the thoughts going through Neliel's head, simply said what he had come to say. "Hey Ichigo, the Yamamoto called you. It appears the True Guard have arrived." With that, he sonidoed away towards Ichigo's house, obviously going to take a nap.

Just before he made the jump however, Ichigo caught a parting grumble. It sounded very similar to 'Bastards almost killed me.' But that couldn't be right. Each of the Soulsingers were individually as powerful as Ywacht. Even if they had defeated him before, they had simply sealed him away. Only Ichigo was able to kill him, and that was only because of plot convenience shenanigans. If they really almost killed Starrk, they were strong. They deserved the presence of a god. Although he would have went anyway; Ichigo took pride in the kind, intelligent side he hid from his schoolmates. Viewing the situation objectively, it was simply the option that gave him the greatest chance to destroy Gabriel.

Linking his arm in Nel's, he tore a garganta open and stepped into the darkness, wondering what this 'True Guard' would be like.

 **I'm not a sellout. I swear. I didn't base the Maya, Kiri, and Emi off of certain characters from a certain anime. I would never do that. That would be silly. Anyway, props to whoever knows who they are. Make sure to leave a review!**


	23. Chapter 23

Ichigo stepped out of the garganta and into the Soul Society. He inhaled the reishi-infused 'air' and sighed. After a moment, he started walking towards the Head Captain's building, where he could feel four powerful spiritual pressures.

Pushing open the door, he was greeted with an unexpected sight. The Head Captain was laughing. Around him were three unfamiliar soul reapers. A woman with shoulder-length dark hair who appeared to be in her mid thirties, a man with hair of similar color who looked around forty, and a man with silver hair who looked about twenty.

Suddenly, Ichigo felt a little bit lonely. It was times like these he wished he could have just had a normal life. He shook off that feeling a moment later. When he thought about everything he had gone through, the friends he had made, he knew he couldn't ask for a better life. It had it's fill of struggles, sure, but he was quite happy. His only regret was that the only other person truly close to his level was Nel. Unfortunately, she had had things to attend to in the human world, but she said she would join him later.

Ichigo coughed to get the attention of the others in the room.

The four looked over and jumped. The three strangers immediately took battle positions.

"Calm down you three," Yamamoto said. "This is Ichigo Kurosaki. Although I am confused by his odd appearance as well, he is no enemy of ours."

He was referring, of course, to the white highlights in Ichigo's now slightly longer hair and hollowfied eye.

Ichigo realized this and rushed to explain. "Oh, this? Pay no mind to it, I just made an agreement with Nashi — I mean, my hollow."

Though Yamamoto raised an eyebrow, he remained silent as the three strangers relaxed.

Suddenly, the man with silver hair's face lit up. He ran up to Ichigo like he was going to tackle him, but just before he got there, he knelt down and looked longingly at the Zanpakuto hanging at Ichigo's waist.

"Can I see your sword?" He asked in awe. Ichigo, though a little confused, drew his sword and handed it over. "Whoa! This is so cool! Zangetsu, huh? Cool name." Ichigo looked surprised when the guy... fondling his sword spoke its name.

"How did you...?"

"Oh, I have a way with Zanpakuto. I can hear their voices sometimes even before their owners do. Wait a minute..." The man's eyes widened. "Why do I hear two... no, three voices?"

"Well, before I tell you their names, mind telling me yours? I'm Ichigo."

"Oh! Sorry. I'm Emi. Why does your sword have three voices? Zangetsu's is clear, but I can't tell what the others are saying."

"Here," Ichigo said, and tapped the blade of Zangetsu. The blade then warped and changed color. The sleek black metal became a shining silver, and the blade changed to reveal Kyoka Suigetsu. Yamamoto's eyes widened, but said nothing. Time had taught him to trust Ichigo, and he knew that if he really wanted to, Ichigo could destroy the Seireitei with a thought.

"Oh! Kyoka Suigetsu, huh? She feels... conflicted. Well, that's your business, not mine. Anyway, could I see the last one?"

After a moment of hesitation, Ichigo called Murcielago forth.

"What the hell? This can't... how can a Zanpakuto possess a hollow's spirit? Though shards of hollows can latch onto Whole souls, an incomplete soul like a Zanpakuto shouldn't be able to support one," Emi said, obviously surprised.

Yamamoto decided to explain. "There once was a captain with an intellect unmatched by any other. One day, he had an idea. He wanted to breach the gap between Shinigami and Hollow. No matter how much a Shinigami trains, there will always be a point they cannot pass. However, when this gap is breached, the limiter is removed and there is a possibility for unrestrained growth. The man, in a way, succeeded in his endeavor and created a device which breached that gap. Through this, hollows could become something close to a real Shinigami, and Shinigami could become something close to a hollow. When a hollow becomes a Shinigami, they gain a Zanpakuto."

Though Emi, being rather dull in anything not pertaining to weaponry, didn't understand much of Yamamoto's rather lengthy explanation, he got the general idea. "Cool! This unlocks all sorts of potential! Are there any other hollow Zanpakuto right now?"

"Yes," Ichigo responded. "I can take you to see them some other time."

"COOOL!"

 _ **Hey partner, this guy is kinda weird.**_

Ichigo ignored Nashi as Yamamoto introduced the other two strangers in the room. "Aside from Emi there, the two in the corner are Maya and Kiri. These three are the only souls in existence that can freely use both a Zanpakuto and Quincy arrows. Not only that, but as Starrk saw before, they also have some quite unique enhancements as well."

 _Huh. Quincy and Soul Reaper both._

Maya and Kiri both gave Ichigo a slight nod.

He hadn't noticed it before, but these three had incredible reserves of power. The reason it was so well concealed was because their power was split evenly between Quincy and Soul Reaper. He had a feeling Emi was the strongest in terms of power, but the intellect of the other two could be as impressive as Mayuri's. As he looked into those lightless eyes, he knew they were master tacticians.

For the next few hours, they took time getting to know each other and tell stories of each others feats. Though Ichigo had the most stories to tell, he felt that the three newcomers' story was the most impressive. A tale of how the Quincy King was trapped in a separate reality because of the efforts of the Head Captain and True Guard. It turned out that Yamamoto had just barely defeated Ywacht in their duel when his Almighty power allowed him to begin recovering. Just before his regeneration was complete, the True Guard cast a Kido so powerful the King was warped to a different reality.

After meeting the True Guard and finding them, though kinda quirky, incredibly likeable, Ichigo decided it was about time to go home. He tore open a garganta and began walking. Just as it was about to close, however, he heard the four shout out. He turned 180 and dashed back out. He reentered the Soul Society and found that the room he had been laughing in minutes ago was rubble, and the four others were looking up in the sky with grim looks on their faces.

In the sky was an angel.

The angel opened it's perfectly-shaped mouth.

"Ichigo Kurosaki has three days to relinquish his life to me or I will destroy this and the human dimension. He knows where to find me."

With that, he vanished.

The four looked at Ichigo with worried looks on their face.

"Well... this is awkward."

 **Sorry for the month-long wait with short-ish chapter. I've been reading the Overlord Light Novels and mmmmmmmm are they good. Anyway, I know I'm all over the damn place but I've decided that I will make a sequel in the future regarding the two ladies of the story because it is way to god damn hard to fit them in with what I want to do right now. I hope you can forgive me... well, r &r, but please refrain from petty insults. Tell me what you think would make it better and I will consider it if I feel it fits in. Till next time.**


	24. Chapter 24

You could say Ichigo was angry. He didn't enjoy being threatened. He enjoyed it even less when those precious to him were threatened.

Yes, you could say he was angry. The scars in the underground training ground were proof of that. After the angel had delivered his ultimatum, he had spent hours releasing his rage. Shortly afterwards, he went upstairs and went to bed.

He opened his eyes in his inner world to see Nashi, Kyoka Suigetsu, Zangetsu, Murcielago, and Arakiel all waiting for him.

" **So... what's the plan, partner?** "

"Haaaaaah," Ichigo sighed. "Aside from killing that thing, I don't know."

"Ichigo," Arakiel began. "Gabriel is not someone you can beat with pure power. Lasciel will be teaching Nel what she needs tonight, but your teaching is a little different. I'll show you when we get there. I'll guide you to the mountain in the morning. What you need to figure out now is how to willingly relinquish control to Nashi. I can't teach you when all you're focusing on is fighting."

" **In the past, it has only been me taking control by force and you pushing me out. Now, we need to find synergy. Forcing control and accepting it are two very different things.** "

All night, the two of them practiced exchanging control. Ichigo tried to remember how it felt when Nashi would steal control from him, but it was impossible. His mind had hated that feeling so much he had repressed it in the depths of his memory. With the first method barred, they started from scratch. Slowly Ichigo relaxed his mind more and more, letting his iron mental defense melt away. After an hour they managed to transfer control for thirty seconds before his soul rejected Nashi. It was a start.

Ichigo opened his eyes as he awoke to his warm bed, Nel's soft form beside him. He pecked her on the cheek before sitting up. It was nine in the morning and there was a lot to do. He packed his bags and began gathering the strongest arrancar. Nel joined him after roughly half an hour.

The former espada had been training tirelessly, and even the ones without divine power could kill a basic angel reliably. After gathering his Soulsinger companions, he also brought along Halibel, Grimmjow, and Uryu. The True Guard joined them just before they were about to set out.

"Everyone ready?" Ichigo asked.

After a few nods, he tore a hole in reality and they traveled through the garganta. They came back to reality to see a snow-covered mountain. The peak broke through the clouds and was out of sight.

"You couldn't have let us out at the top?" Grimmjow complained.

"Hey, I did my best. Gabriel's power was so dense this was as close as I could get."

"Either way, we might as well get climbing."

And so they did. They dodged a few falling rocks, but the climb was mostly struggle-free. After roughly fifteen minutes they reached a plateau. Standing upon the plateau were two figures. They had pure white wings that tagged them as angels.

"Hey look! Some toys!" Grimmjow's voice brimmed with savage joy and a grin spread across his face. Halibel's face twisted slightly in disgust for a second before returning to its normal, emotionless expression.

"We can take care of this Ichigo," Halibel said. "You may continue ahead... Cascada!" She shot a jet of water at one of the angels as Grimmjow dashed at another. The others blinked ahead and continued running up a snowy path.

"Hahahaha! This is fun!" Grimmjow shouted. "Cero!" A blue ball of light began forming at his chin. It grew for a few moments until exploding forward, blowing his angel into the cliff face.

"Hunt, Tiburon!" Halibel was engulfed in water for a moment before it dispersed, revealing her ressureccion.

"Okay... Grind, Pantera!" Grimmjow raked his claws down his blade and, with a flash of light, transformed.

In a flash, the two were assaulting their respective angels. Grimmjow slashed with his claws, deep gashes appearing all over the angel. Halibel was throwing Cascada after Cascada at her angel, pounding it into the cliff face.

After a few moments the two heard the angels voices in unison: "Divine Evolution: Retribution Angel."

Two flashes of light flew from the indents in the cliff and clashed together. The resulting ball of light slowly dimmed into an enormous angel holding a vicious sword. The Angel opened its mouth, but no sound came out. Its sword began to glow red as the angel raised it. All sound vanished, and the world became silent – frozen in time. The angel swung its sword at supersonic speeds, and sound returned with a boom. It was so fast, neither espada had time to react. And Grimmjow was missing an arm.

He slowly looked down at it with wide eyes as blood dribbled down his side. He had flashbacks to when he had lost his arm to ichigo. It was like Nam part two, Angel boogaloo. And he didn't like it. With an explosion of Reiatsu, he screamed, "Garra de la Pantera!" His claws extended into blue reiatsu, and he swung his remaining arm in the angels direction.

Halibel, in turn, threw her power into a Cascada, launching it at the angel at the same time. Then she sliced a wound in her arm.

The two espada wiped some of their blood onto their hands and screamed in unison "Gran Rey Cero!" Two massive balls of light formed in their outstretched hands for a moment before they released their power. The Ceros, Cascada, and Garra de la Pantera all hit the angel at the same time, totally obliterating it's body. If they looked behind it, they would have seen perfectly round tunnels in the cliff face where the Ceros had punched through.

The two of them collapsed to the ground as the angel's body began to dissolve. Grimmjow passed out from loss of blood, so Halibel immediately cauterized the wound with scalding water. The two of them had done their part, so Halibel decided it was time to go home. She opened a garganta and, wishing Ichigo and the others luck, stepped through.

Ichigo felt the angels' spiritual pressure disappear like a flame that was blown out. Shortly afterwards, he felt a garganta open and the two espadas' spiritual pressure faded as well. Knowing they got home safely, he grinned. One more worry off his mind. As they approached another platuea, he unconsciously let off a pulse of reiatsu. He was bursting with excitement. He could feel the same thing from Kenpachi beside him. He had a feeling this was gonna be fun.


	25. Chapter 25

They reached the next plateau just a minute later... and it was empty. Ichigo could distinctly feel a powerful presence, but there was nothing here. All he could see was a couple stones here, and a few plants there. Oh, don't forget the snow. It was cold.

"What's going on? Is there no one to fight?" Kenpachi asked. "I was getting excited."

"I don't know why there isn't anyone here either, but move carefully. He might be hiding somehow," Ichigo replied, and they started slowly walking.

Ichigo looked around carefully, making sure not to miss anything. No matter how hard he looked, there was nothing to hide behind, and nothing was moving. He closed his eyes and searched for soul ribbons. Surprise, surprise, that's still a thing. Immediately around him were several red ribbons. There was nothing else. Then he looked down. His eyes widened. They were standing on a massive soul ribbon.

"Everyone jump!" Too late. As Ichigo leapt into the air, the ground began to writhe. Only Yoruichi was quick enough to follow before vines shot out of the ground and ensnared all of their companions.

A moment later they heard a distorted laughing. Looking up, Yoruichi and Ichigo saw an angel with white wings and wavy brown hair tumbling down his back. His face was a vision of beauty. High cheekbones, no facial hair, and ice-blue eyes. In his hand he held a gnarled wooden staff.

"Hello, Ichigo! I am the Seraph of life!" The man spun around as he spoke, with a childish smile inhabiting his manly face. It was unsettling. He let out another distorted laugh. For some reason it sounded... joyful. That was even more unsettling. "Let's try to kill each other!"

"Wh-"

"Verdant Explosion!" The Seraph shouted, and more vines erupted from the ground.

Ichigo's mask materialized over his face almost instantly. " **Getsuga Tensho**!" The crescent of red-black energy tore through the vines with a tearing sound, followed by an explosion of rocks as it hit the ground.

"Better be careful or you might hit your friends! That would be... tragic." The Seraph's last word seemed to crawl over Ichigo's skin and he could feel its killing intent. Suddenly Ichigo was struck with images of what could be. A happy ending with Nel. A family. _His_ family. And an image of everyone he loved bleeding out on the ground. This was the power of a Seraph's voice. It could make you feel specific emotions, or see specific images. He had encountered the same thing with Joy. But Life had made the mistake of threatening his loved ones.

Yes, that was a mistake. A big one.

" **AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH**!" Ichigo's distorted scream erupted from his mouth. " **YORUICHI! HOLD HIM DOWN!** "

She was startled by his sudden outburst, but did as he said. "Divine Prison!"

Golden chains erupted from the ground, wrapping around the Seraph, immobilizing him.

Ichigo screamed in rage once more before unleashing a Getsuga Tensho, splitting the seraph in half.

Or at least, that's what should have happened. Instead, when the arc of red-black energy reached him, the Seraph broke one of the chains, released his arm, and simply batted the attack away.

"Ezekiel!" Yoruichi shouted, and more chains – three times the number of before – sprouted from the ground and wrapped around the Seraph. The Seraph struggled and his eyes widened, but this time the chains didn't budge.

" **Divine Destruction: Inferno,** " Ichigo growled, and hellfire burst from the ground below the Seraph. It screamed as it was engulfed in flames. " **Divine Destruction: Blizzard** ," Ichigo said. Dark clouds formed above them and snow began to fall. The inferno around the Seraph was put out and in its place ice formed. Everywhere a snowflake fell, a spike of ice shot out into the Seraph. After about twenty seconds the snowfall ceased and the Seraph's body was blackened and full of holes. The chains had melted away as well.

The Seraphs body twitched. It slowly raised a hand and grated out, "Almighty Gift: Entreat the Angels."

For a moment, nothing happened. Seconds later, the world shook. A shining portal opened above them and Angels came pouring out. Hundreds of them lined up shoulder to shoulder and raised their hands. A yellow ball of light began growing in the center of them. It was quite obvious that if they were allowed to finish there would no longer be a mountain to stand on, nor would there be anyone to stand on it.

" **Nashi! Let's go!"** Ichigo shouted. " **Fade to nothing... Reality Hemorrhage!** " Ichigo slashed the air in front of him and waited. A second later there was an ear-splitting 'CRACK,' and reality itself split in two. From the resulting gap gushed forth tentacles as black as a moonless night sky. They wrapped around the angels and pulled them back through the hole. A moment after all the tentacles retreated to their own dimension, reality slowly mended itself as if nothing had happened.

"What... are... you?" The Seraph asked in horror.

 **"..."** Ichigo simply looked at him menacingly.

Nel giggled and ripped the vine holding her down off like it was nothing. " _What_ is he? Ichigo is many things. But only one of them matters. He is the god that is about to extinguish your life like a candle."

Ichigo cricked his neck. " **Divine art: Seraphslayer.** " The spectral Zanpakuto appeared above his head and formed a pentagram on the Seraph's chest.

"No... Stop! I... don't want... to die!"

" **Then you shouldn't have threatened those that I love.** " He threw Tensa Zangetsu in the center of the pentagram. " **Dinok**." Blue flames erupted from the Seraph's chest and he slowly crumbled to ash. Ichigo walked over and picked up his weapon and slung it over his back. He reached up and pulled off his mask.

The vines had crumbled to ash along with the Seraph and the others had begun to stand. "What were those weird tentacle things?" Starrk was the first to speak. "I could hear whispers when they were taking the angels."

"Those? All I know is they are not anything you can fight. They corrupt the mind and would devour all life on earth if set free. I only used that attack because it was the only way I could think of to stop the angels from killing us." Ichigo replied. _Short of doing_ that. He added in his thoughts.

They could just barely see the peak from where they stood. Unfortunately, there was no path leading to it. Just a sheer cliff.

"Okay guys... we are almost to the peak. When we get there, I need everyone except for Nel, Emi, Maya, and Kiri to stay back. This being is stronger than Ywacht. Only the five of us can fight without dying," Ichigo said.

"Damnit! I was looking forward to fighting," Kenpachi grumbled.

"Sorry guys, but this fight isn't something to take lightly. If we don't fight with everything, we will die."

"We understand," Yoruichi spoke and the rest nodded. "We'll stay back for this one."

"Okay, good. Now let's get climbing."

So they did. It took about fifteen minutes before they got to the top...

… and gazed straight into the eyes of a dragon.

 **Heya guys! Thanks for reading the chapter and I hope you liked it. It might be a little while before the next chapter as I won't have reliable access to a computer for a while, but I will do my best. There are just one or two chapters left! I hope you'll stick with me to the end.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Hey Guys! I'm really sorry its been so long, but like I said I haven't had much access to a computer. Luckily, that time let me think a lot about how I wanted to end the story. Enjoy!**

At the top of the cliff, they were staring straight into the amber eyes of a dragon. Ichigo drew his sword, preparing in case of hostilities.

"Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu," He whispered.

An ancient voice rang out an instant later. "Krosis. Apologies, but your mind games will not work on me, child of man. I am far to old and experienced for that."

Ichigo's eyes widened, his sword changed back to Tensa Zangetsu, and he took a fighting stance.

"Relax, child. I am also far to old to fight," The dragon rumbled. "I have resigned myself to watching how the world proceeds. My rule is long over... and it appears my child's is approaching its end as well."

"You are okay with seeing Gabriel die?" Ichigo asked.

"Is any parent okay with watching their child die? No. The fact that his twin brother will be the one fighting him only makes it worse– Krosis. Apologies, I have said too much."

"What does he mean, Arakiel, by twin brother?" Ichigo asked slowly.

" _I was hoping this would never come up. The truth is, I lied. The wise dragon I spoke of did not create Gabriel alone. He created twins: Gabriel of love... and me, Arakiel of hate. Everything has a duality. We angels are no different. We can only be created in pairs. I hope you can forgive me for lying to you..._ "

"Don't worry about that. I'm sure you had your reasons for lying to me, and I'm sure you'll tell me the whole truth when you're ready. For now, we need to focus on the task at hand."

"You will find Gabriel at the peak of the mountain," the dragon said. "Please... don't make him suffer." With that, the dragon took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes. His body began to rise and fall regularly, signaling he was sleeping.

"I won't," Ichigo replied softly. "Okay everyone, lets go."

"Right," They all said in unison.

Behind the ancient dragon was a simple path leading up. A few stairs here and there, but for the most part just a light slope that wound around the peak. It wasn't long before Ichigo could see the clearing the he assumed was the peak. They arrived at the top to see a rather alarming sight. Before them stood who they could only assume was Gabriel wreathed in purple, ominous light. He stood 3 meters tall with his arms raised. His back was to Ichigo, and in front of him were two rings of the same light. Gabriel was chanting in a language older than the dragons', lost to time.

Suddenly Gabriel went silent, and flashes of searing white light erupted from the circles. There stood two Seraphs, twisted and warped. Reality seemed to shatter and reform around them.

"Kill them," Gabriel ordered them, and in an instant the Seraphs were in front of Ichigo.

"Emi, Maya, and Kiri take the one on the left. Nel and I will take the one on the right," Ichigo said.

The two groups split off while the few remaining stood back. Together they could take one of the Seraphs, but definitely not both.

Emi wasn't sure what to think of this Seraph. It appeared to be corrupted by... something. Something old and powerful. The way it moved was unpredictable and the way reality seemed to shift around it was unsettling. Suddenly reality shimmered in front of the trio and the Seraph swung a sword down upon them. Maya was hit into a boulder and Kiri had suffered a small scratch on his arm. Emi had barely escaped injury with his speed superior to even Yoruichi's.

"Judge," Kiri said as he threw a dagger of green spiritual pressure at the Seraph. The dagger stopped a foot from him and dropped to the ground. "Jury," Kiri continued and threw a sword three times the size of the dagger. This time the sword got a little closer before it stopped. An instant later something shattered around the sword and it dropped to the ground. Both the sword and dagger dissolved into thin air an instant later. "Executioner!" Kiri finished as a gigantic cleaver formed over his head. He grasped the handle and swung straight down. The Seraph raised its sword in an instant to block, but it was cut straight through by the cleaver. This, however, had reduced the force of Kiri's attack so much that the cleaver, upon contact, bit through the Seraph's shoulder just an inch or two deep. The cut healed almost immediately.

The Seraph responded by raising his hand. In its palm a pure black ball appeared. From that ball shot a tentacle identical to the ones that Ichigo had called upon when fighting the Seraph of life. It pierced through the left side of Kiri's stomach, leaving a gaping hole. The tentacle then retracted back to the black orb and the Seraph closed it's hand. Kiri dropped to the ground, chest rising and falling very weakly. If Emi didn't end this soon, Kiri would die.

"Fine," he said. He looked to where Maya had collapsed. She had just risen, groaning, and began moving towards Kiri. She knew some medical Kido, so she would probably be able to stabilize him. He really did have to finish this. "Bankai: Museigen no burēdowāku."

There was a bright flash of light and the surroundings changed. When he could see again, he and the Seraph were alone. The landscape around them was not the peak of a mountain, but a barren landscape. Looking up to the sky, there were massive gears turning, shrouded in clouds. As far as the eye could see, sticking out of the ground all around him were countless Zanpakuto.

"What... is... this..." The Seraph asked in a strangled voice.

"This is the power of my Bankai. Replication. In this reality, a replica of every Zanpakuto I have ever touched resides for my use," Emi explained. "On top of that, it is totally sealed off from any other dimension. Therefore you will not be able to call upon those tentacles anymore."

"I... see... however... my speed... is not... inhibited." Seraph once again seemed to teleport in front of Emi and slammed his hand down on him.

"Too slow," Emi said as he dove to the side, grabbing a Zanpakuto and ripping it out of the ground as he did so. "Bankai. Senbonzakura Kageyoshi," Emi pointed the sword to the ground and dropped it. It sank into the ground as massive blades rose up around him and then dissolved into hundreds of thousands of 'petals.' The petals swirled around Emi as a shield. He picked up another Zanpakuto beside him. "Bankai. Tensa Zangetsu." Blue reiatsu flared up around him and, when it dispersed, he was wearing an outfit similar to Ichigo's, but instead of black, it was a crimson red. "Interesting. Looks like I can only stand one more bankai before my bones start breaking under the spiritual pressure. Hmm, what to choose..." Emi muttered to himself as he pondered what the last bankai would be. He had examined every captain's Zanpakuto before they left, but wasn't sure which would be best. Kaname's would have been perfect, but sadly his Zanpakuto had died along with him.

"You... don't have... time... to think!" The corrupted Seraph choked out. He charged forward at Emi, drawing a second sword seemingly out of nowhere. He swung it straight down on Emi's head. Emi simply heard the scraping of metal on metal as the petals of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi surged up to meet it. The Seraph hissed in anger and pain as more of the petals rose up past the sword and began to carve through its skin.

"Now if you would kindly wait here, I need to find something," Emi said as if talking to a child and not an enemy warrior. Looking around, he spotted the sword he had been looking for. There was a sword that looked oddly similar to Zangetsu next to it, but he paid it no mind. He walked over to it and pulled it from the ground as the Seraph stood in place, stunned. "Bankai. Zanka no Tachi." Of course in the end he went with the most powerful Bankai in the soul society. Head captain Genryusai Yamamoto's Zanka no Tachi, which was so powerful it could literally destroy a dimension. "I now have an impenetrable defense, superior speed, and an unblockable offense. You cannot win any longer." Emi's mouth was dry. Zanka no Tachi truly was formidable.

"Nonsense! The... ancient ones... granted me this... power..." Agitation was evident in the Seraphs voice. "I... am... superior to... you in... every way!" It screamed in its strangled voice. The Seraph charged once more, blinded by its rage. It swung its blade wildly, each slash blocked again and again by hundreds of thousands of steel petals.

One more swing and petals surrounded the blade, holding it in place. An instant later, Emi was behind the Seraph. With a lazy swing of Zanka no Tachi, one of the Seraph's arms were gone. Another swing and a leg was gone, too. The Seraph was still desperately trying to free his blade, but lost his balance and fell to the ground.

 _Times almost up. Any longer with all three bankai active and I'll pass out. Better finish this now._ "Goodbye, Seraph." Emi swung his sword down and just like that, the Seraphs head was separated from its body. There was no blood, the heat of Zanka no Tachi had cauterized the wound instantly.

"It is... this world... you should bid... farewell." The rolling head choked.

Emi's eyes widened. "Wha–" His question was cut off as the body of the Seraph exploded, tentacles flying everywhere like shrapnel. The three Bankai that had been active a moment before had run out, so there were no petals to shield him. He took four wounds to his abdomen, and he could feel they had barely missed his heart. His vision faded to black as his own bankai ended, returning him to the normal world. He heard someone shout his name, then nothing.

Ichigo's Seraph had just been defeated as Emi seemed to pop back into existence with wounds in his chest. He heard Maya shout out his name and saw her begin to dash towards him. Kiri seemed to be alive, but definitely not in good shape. Looking towards Gabriel, he saw only a smug smile on his face. That made Ichigo rather angry. How unfortunate for Gabriel.

 **Hey guys, once again, sorry it's been so long. I hope the wait was worth it! And I may or may not have taken ideas from another anime but shhhhhhhhh. Anyway, please leave a review!**


	27. Final Chapter

Yes, Ichigo was angry. He wanted to wipe that smug smile off of Gabriel's face. His mask suddenly felt significantly heavier. " **Nelliel** ," he said. " **Get ready**."

Though slightly startled by his use of her full name, she readied herself to fight.

" **Okay, let's go**." Ichigo and Nel vanished instantly and only a moment later clashed swords with Gabriel. He had drawn two swords an instant earlier and had almost lazily raised them to block.

"You'll have to try harder than that if you want to even scratch me," Gabriel yawned. "It's comical how slowly you move." He seemed to be effortlessly blocking attacks that were too fast for the naked eye to see. "Enough with this play. Divine Creation: Holy Nova." Scorching white light exploded in a ring around him, knocking back both Ichigo and Nel instantly.

 _ **Hey partner, let me out. Arakiel needs to teach you some things and I wanna have some fun.**_

" **Fine,"** Ichigo grumbled, and relinquished control of his body to retreat to his inner world.

The change was immediate. Ichigo's spiritual pressure was suddenly significantly more oppressive and his stance stiffened, then relaxed. His skin bleached and his hair grew long, white highlights becoming more prominent. The holes of his mask that normally revealed his eyes were shrouded in shadow. He let out a laugh. It was the laugh of the insane.

"What happened?" Gabriel asked in confusion. "You are not Ichigo. Who are you? What is your name?"

" **Who am I?** " Nashi repeated " **What's my name? Let's see, what was it I told that noble? I have no name!** "

Nashi sonidoed at a speed that would break any normal soul reaper or hollow's neck and appeared behind Gabriel, swinging Tensa Zangetsu down with a crushing force. Gabriel barely raised one of his own swords to block, but he was knocked off balanced and pushed back. A small fissure had opened up in line with Nashi's swing.

" **Oops, maybe I should tone it down a little** ," Nashi said before seeing Nel looking upon the scene in awe. " **Hey Nelliel, get your ass over here and help out**."

She shook her head as if snapping out of a trance before leaping forward. "Danza de la Muerte Verde!" Nel became a blur as she slashed Gabriel over and over, each wound deeper and longer than the last.

" **Divine Word: Cripple,** " Nashi spoke a new command, and with a crack, Gabriel's arms bent in ways no arm should bend. Even the sadistic Nashi winced as he laughed.

"Ah, so brother taught you that too, did he? Divine Word: Restore. Divine Word: Stasis." The first command Gabriel gave reverted his arms back to normal, and the second made them immovable, preventing them from breaking again. "Divine Word: Strength," Gabriel said, and the force of his attacks became much more powerful.

Swinging his left sword, he caught Nashi in the chest. Swinging his left sword, he caught Nel in the stomach. They both went flying with blood spraying. The wounds closed almost instantly of course due to their highspeed regeneration, but it still hurt. A lot.

" **Piece of shit,** " Nashi groaned and returned to his assault alongside Nel. Steel clashed over and over again as the two smaller figures blurred together around one bigger one. It was clear that Nashi fought far more efficiently and effectively than Ichigo, which brought up the question: Did Ichigo really win in the fights with Nashi when they were fighting for control of his soul? Or did Nashi simply let him win?

No matter the case, even with their improved fighting skills they were gaining no ground in their fight with Gabriel. In fact, it seemed as if they were losing it.

 _ **Come on, partner. Hurry up in there.**_

Just as Nashi was praying for Ichigo's return, Ichigo was in the middle of a fierce battle himself. He was fighting all three of his Zanpakuto spirits and Arakiel all at once. He was bloody and tired, and on the last leg of his strength. In fact, it felt as if the wind could blow and he would fall over.

"Come on, Ichigo, I did not lend my power to a weakling. You can do better than this," Zangetsu said.

"Fight harder, Ichigo," Arakiel said. "You'll never be able to defeat Gabriel at this rate. Even Nashi is struggling just to keep even footing."

Ichigo swung his sword at his latest attacker, Murcielago, but it was simply deflected and he suffered another slash.

"Maybe," he panted, "I wouldn't be having such a hard time if I was fighting one of you at a time." Another clash of steel and another wound suffered. Now Ichigo was down on one knee.

The three Zanpakuto and the fallen Soulsinger all charged forward with weapons extended. Gathering the remainder of his strength, he raised his sword. "Getsuga Tensho," he grated out. His sword arced through the air and a burst of red-black energy flew from his blade.

It flew outward and tore through all the spirits assaulting him before he collapsed, exhausted. For a moment, the Zanpakuto spirits were immobilized, but a few seconds later they reformed and walked forward. One by one they stabbed their blades through Ichigo's chest. Pain shot through his body in three separate places.

"Congratulations Ichigo," Arakiel spoke as he stood over him, blade just above his chest. "Now, at your most vulnerable, you can finally learn to commit Deicide." Arakiel's blade joined the others in his chest and the pain vanished. A few seconds later, he blacked out.

Sweat dripped down Nashi's pale face. Of course, no one could see it behind the mask, but it was there nonetheless. Despite his efficient combat style, he still became exhausted quickly. Nel wasn't in any better shape. Clash after clash of steel on steel had worn them down slowly but surely, and Gabriel hadn't seemed to lose any momentum.

 _Nashi, tag out._

" **Thank God.** "

Once again, Ichigo's demeaner changed drastically. His skin regained color until once again, it appeared human. His mask dissolved off his face. "Hello again."

"Ah, the human returns," Gabriel said. "I suppose it is time to end this silly game. Divine Destruction: Flames of Perdition." Balls of fire began forming behind him, and just moments later, began to rain down upon Ichigo. Every single flame hit him. It only took a second for Ichigo's body to disintegrate to nothing.

Or at least, that's what was supposed to happen. Instead, Ichigo simply raised his hand and caught the flames. "Shit," Ichigo cursed as he shook his hand in pain. "But I agree, it is time to end this... and there is no way I can beat you out here. So be it... I didn't want to do this but you've left me no choice. _All become none. Bankai: Nashi._ " And the world vanished.

When Gabriel came to, he saw only Ichigo standing in front of him, wearing only street clothes. Something felt off. He tried to move and found he couldn't; his body felt like it was made of lead and all his strength was sapped away. There was nothing around him; no ground, no sky, nothing.

"What is this?" Gabriel spoke and he realized what had seemed off. His voice had shattered the perfect silence that had hung in the air.

"Oh, this?" Ichigo waved his hand and reality rippled where it moved. "This is my Bankai... I truly am god of this space. With nothing to destroy, I can finally release my full Spiritual pressure." He closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

The change was immediate. Gabriel's body didn't feel like lead anymore. It felt like lead on the bottom of an ocean. Pressure so great he couldn't breathe. Pressure so great his skull creaked. Pressure so great the veins in his eyes burst and he shed tears of blood.

Ichigo stood looking at him, seemingly unaffected. "Any last words?"

"What... are... you?" He barely managed to wheeze.

"I have no idea. Anyway, I can't waste too much time chatting," Ichigo said and his one hollowfied eye seemed to glow. "Original Divine Art: Genisis..."

Nothing became something once more. Dust formed out of seemingly nowhere and coalesced into several giant boulders in a sphere around Gabriel. They grew to enormous size – larger than a city building – before smashing down on him. The coalition of boulders compacted into a spherical shape that soon took the appearance of the earth. Thus, Genesis.

Not a sound could be heard from the pseudo-earth.

Then Ichigo raised his arms like a referee signaling a touchdown. A moment after reality stilled once more, he said, "… to Judgment Day." A great white column of light pierced through the center of the pseudo-earth, and it was obliterated a moment later. The shards of rock floated away and revealed the broken body of Gabriel, which released an agonizing moan.

A small stream of blood dripped from Ichigo's nose. He was a true god in this space... and had to deal with everything that came with it. His mortal body couldn't handle the strain and was starting to cave.

"Okay... time to go." With one more rippling wave of his hand, the world returned. Ichigo's spiritual pressure was back to the normal oppressive levels, not his reality-tearing ones. "Okay Nel, you know what to do."

They looked upon Gabriel's broken body. It was ever so slowly healing. "Let's hurry, love."

They spoke in unison. "Draconic Art: Godslayer." The world went deaf for only a moment. Then, a cacophony of sound erupted from the god and goddess. It was the sound of hundreds of dragons roaring. Spectral scales began forming around Ichigo and Nel; Ichigo, who was standing on the left, had orange scales forming, while Nel's were a deep jade.

The scales finished forming and there stood a single, solid dragon. Half orange and half jade, its scales shimmered like a mirage. There had never been a being so beautiful and terrible to exist on the earth. It stood before the broken soulsinger and opened its mouth. Before it even spoke, anyone within a mile radius could feel the hunger it radiated. With a timeless voice that sounded nothing like Ichigo's or Nel's, it spoke. " _ **You look surprised, little angel! Surely you must have known it would be a dragon to kill you in the end... No? You didn't? Ah, what a shame. Despair, little angel. Know that none will cherish your memory after all the destruction you have caused. Now perish.**_ " With the final word, the dragon's eyes glowed a yellow-green. It once again opened its mouth and a spout of fire shot from it, engulfing Gabriel's body. His flesh was visibly disintegrating in the hellfire devouring it, and its distorted screams could only barely be heard over the crackling sound of burning flesh.

The scales of the dragon became translucent once more before dissolving like a hollow mask. Ichigo and Nel collapsed, and their friends ran straight to them. Yoruichi, being the fastest of the group, arrived first. She shook Ichigo lightly, and then harder when he didn't respond. Kenpachi, who got there second, gave Nel a little nudge with his foot. She groaned a moment later and sat up. She looked over to Ichigo and her eyes widened.

"Ichi? Ichi! Wake up!" She shouted, tears beginning to trickle down her face. Blood began trickling out of his ears and nose. "Oh no," she whispered.

"What? What's happening?" Yoruichi asked frantically.

"Ichigo's bankai makes him a god of his own personal space. He gains the power of omnipotence temporarily. Temporary or not, however, no mortal is supposed to wield that power. He knew too much. He controlled too much. His body and mind are starting to deteriorate. It's like using Mugetsu... except if we don't do something, he may very well... die." Nel choked on the last word.

"Well? What can we do?"

"Just being near our massive spiritual pressure should sustain his soul. His body and mind, however... he needs medical Kido... or better yet Orihime, to mend his dying body. His mind, however... that we can do nothing about. It will throw out all the knowledge it deems unnecessary until it is no longer over capacity. If it didn't, he'd go insane. The only problem is, we don't know what information his mind will throw out. It might throw out his name... his common sense... us—" Nel's voice caught on the last word and she sobbed.

Kenpachi went to fetch Unohana from the Seireitei while the others stayed by Ichigo. They had defeated a god, but Ichigo's battle was far from over. A few minutes later Unohana arrived and began healing him with a strained face.

Some time later, when Ichigo was stable, they went back to the Soul Society to lay him in the Squad 4 barracks. For almost twelve hours they waited for Ichigo to open his eyes, Yoruichi and Nel sitting next to his bed the entire time.

When he finally opened his eyes, a cheer went up from everyone there, even Kenpachi. Ichigo sat up looking startled. His eyes passed over every one of his friends before looking around. With no signs of recognition on his face he mumbled, "Where am I? And who are you guys?"

The room went silent. Then two sobbing women rushed from the room, and it was silent once more. It would stay that way for several minutes before Ichigo would ask where his mother was, as he wanted to be with her while she walked home in the rain.

 **And there you have it. The stunning and evil conclusion of 'A God in the Makings.' There may be a sequel in the future, but first I want to focus on a Tokyo Ghoul story that I have some ideas for. Anyway, I am terribly sorry for the wait – but college is a thing – and I would love to hear if you think I'm evil, did something – or everything – wrong, or did something right. Till next time, have a good day.**


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